No. 5 Syracuse men’s lacrosse tops Colgate, Spallina makes history

The crowd of nearly 6,500 that filed into the Dome Saturday to watch No. 5 Syracuse men’s lacrosse down Colgate 14-7 came for one reason: to watch SU superstar senior Joey Spallina make school history. Boy, did he. Just a few minutes into the first quarter, Spallina tied Mike Powell’s program record with his 307th career point. Then, a few minutes later, he broke that mark in the most Joey Spallina way possible — with a behind the back assist. 

“That was very much instinctive,” Spallina said of the history-making play. “I saw [Michael Leo] cut behind the guy and I went [behind-the-back], Mike went BTB as well. It’s not the first time that we’ve done it, but it just so happened that we did it on that goal. It was awesome.”

“I think he came in — all of these seniors came into this program with an old school mindset and that was that they’re here to win the championship,” SU head coach Gary Gait said of Spallina and his class. “They brought that attitude back and that’s the way Syracuse used to be. Every year you thought they had a chance to win it. I think this year we’re in the mix and have a chance to win it. So they brought that back to the program and I appreciate it.”

“I’m extremely close with them,” Spallina said of passing the legendary Powell brothers on the points list. “There’s pictures, I think my dad has it, of me and Casey when I was 10. I’ve been extremely tight with those guys. Those guys are unbelievable. I get texts from former 22’s all the time. Everyone cares and everybody wants you to do good.”

Now, one regular season game remains for Syracuse, which travels to South Bend, Indiana, to face Notre Dame Saturday. Faceoff between the Orange and Irish is set for noon. Follow @CitrusTVSports on X for updates.