No. 11 Syracuse men’s lacrosse hopes to stay in the win column against No. 7 Johns Hopkins
By Josh Richardson | @joshrichy_04
The beginning of the 2025 season for 11th ranked Syracuse men’s lacrosse did not get off to a great start. SU started 2nd in the Inside Lacrosse preseason rankings but have since dropped into the double digits. The Orange sit 4-2 through their first six tilts with both drops coming against other ranked programs. In those games, Syracuse lost both in two different ways. Against Maryland, SU got outplayed and outcoached. The Terps made sure to use the conditions to their advantage, practicing in the rain every day leading up to the game. UMD was the more prepared team and Syracuse looked completely outmatched. Against Harvard, SU couldn’t muster up the ability to close it out. The Orange held a five goal lead over the Crimson after the first six minutes and slowly but surely the advantage dwindled. After a rebound win over Utah in Salt Lake City last weekend, Syracuse comes home to face one of the most historic programs in college lacrosse in 7th ranked Johns Hopkins. So after some early struggles against ranked teams, what can the Orange do to get past the Blue Jays?
Protect the Lead
I just mentioned how Syracuse blew a massive lead against Harvard earlier in the year. It may sound obvious but that CANNOT happen again. SU will get out to a multi-goal lead at some point in the late stages of the second quarter or the beginning of the third. This season, Johns Hopkins has fallen behind by multiple scores in almost every game. What makes it so good though, is its ability to come back nearly every single time. Against Loyola, Hopkins trailed 6-3 in the second half and came back to win 9-8. When JH battled Virginia, the Cavaliers stormed out to a 5-2 lead and the Blue Jays wiped that away in a 13-12 win. The only loss suffered this season by Johns Hopkins was to North Carolina 13-12. The Tarheels held a 6-2 lead and the Jays wiped it all away to tie it up 12-12. Even in the loss, the ability to come back from large deficits is there and if the Orange slack off at any point, it could lead to serious trouble.
Take Control of the Possession Game
It goes hand in hand, but the best way to both gain an early lead and protect a lead that a team has is by just playing “make it take it” lacrosse. Luckily for Syracuse, it has one of the best faceoff men in the country at its X. Sophomore John Mullen ranks third in all of division one college lacrosse in faceoff percentage at .664. Against Harvard, Mullen went an astounding 28/31 from midfield. Despite that success, the issues in that one came from not converting when given the opportunity. There were so many moments in that second half when the Orange went one and done on offense whether it was bad shots, turnovers, or failed backups. If Mullen can both convert faceoffs at the rate he has so far this year and the Orange don’t go cold in the attacking third, it could be dangerous for Johns Hopkins to get in a hole early and potentially never make it out.
As seen during our show On The Bench earlier this year, I predicted this to be a loss for the Orange, citing that SU would suffer the same type of slow start against ranked opponents that it did last year. Well, that already happened when Syracuse lost to Harvard. Last year the Orange beat the Blue Jays 14-13 at a neutral site. I don’t see this being more than a two-goal game either way. At this point, my final prediction is a 13-11 Syracuse win. The Orange never lead by more than three, and hold off the Jays in the end. Gametime is set for 2:00 on Sunday. Follow @joshrichy_04 on twitter for live coverage.
