Syracuse University
3-0, 0-0
Maryland
1-1, 0-0
#2 Orange Take Down Top-Ranked Terrapins
2/13/2026 8:23:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Joey Spallina scored four goals and Jimmy McCool made nine saves as No. 2 Syracuse knocked off top-ranked Maryland, 11-9, in front of 10,159 fans Friday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange (3-0) used a dominant first half to build a four-goal cushion, then weathered a furious third-quarter rally from the Terrapins (1-1) to remain unbeaten and complete a three-game season-opening home stand with a perfect record.
It was Syracuse's first victory over a No. 1-ranked opponent since the 2017 season and snapped an eight-game skid in the Maryland series dating back to 2011.
Spallina's four-goal night moved the senior captain to 264 career points, now 43 shy of Mike Powell's all-time Syracuse program record of 307. Sophomore Wyatt Hottle added two goals and an assist while Michael Leo scored twice in the second half to push back a Maryland surge. Tyler McCarthy, Payton Anderson, and Bogue Hahn each contributed a goal for Syracuse, which got scoring from seven different players.
Elijah Stobaugh led Maryland with three goals and an assist, while Eric Spanos and Braden Erksa each scored twice. Brian Ruppel finished with 10 saves in his first career start for the Terrapins. John Mullen won 12 of 24 faceoffs for the Orange while collecting a game-high seven ground balls.
How It Happened
- Maryland's Leo Johnson struck first at 1:30 of the opening quarter, but Hottle answered just over a minute and a half later to level the score. After Spanos restored the Terps' lead, Spallina knotted things at two apiece on a feed from Finn Thomson. Spallina then scored unassisted before Hottle capped a three-goal 'Cuse run with 14 seconds left in the frame, giving Syracuse a 4-2 advantage heading into the second.
- The Orange continued to pour it on out of the break. McCarthy opened the second-quarter scoring just 28 seconds in before Anderson extended the lead to 6-2 on a Hottle helper, prompting a Maryland timeout. Stobaugh answered with a pair of goals to cut the deficit to 6-4, but Spallina responded with his third of the night to send the Orange to halftime up 7-4.
- The Terrapins came out of the locker room with renewed energy in the third quarter. Johnson scored off a Chris Lyons assist before Erksa and Spanos rattled off goals in a 37-second span to trim the Syracuse lead to just 8-7. The Orange steadied, however, as Leo scored twice in under four minutes to push the lead back to 10-7 before Spallina deposited his fourth goal of the evening to make it 10-7. Erksa scored late in the frame to make it 10-8 heading to the fourth.
- Stobaugh's fifth goal of the night pulled Maryland within one early in the fourth, but Hahn answered with a crucial insurance goal off a Luke Rhoa assist with 7:26 remaining to restore the two-goal cushion. McCool and the Syracuse defense locked things down from there, as the senior netminder turned away a pair of Stobaugh shots in the final minute to seal the victory.
- Spallina's four-goal performance was his third multi-goal game of the 2026 season. The senior captain has tallied 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points through three games, well on pace to challenge Powell's career record.
- McCool improved to 3-0 on the season with his nine-save performance, continuing his stellar play after earning ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week.
- Syracuse dominated the ground ball battle, 36-22, and committed just 10 turnovers to Maryland's 14. The Orange also held a 21-18 advantage in shots on goal.
- Leo's two third-quarter goals marked his 20th career multi-goal game. The senior All-American midfielder now has six goals through three games in 2026.
- The victory was the largest over a No. 1-ranked team for the Orange since the program's 2009 national championship season.
- Friday's game was the highest-attended home game of the young season, with 10,159 packing the JMA Wireless Dome for the top-two showdown.
- Syracuse improved to 7-16 all-time against Maryland, ending the program's longest losing streak to the Terrapins at eight games.
- The Orange hit the road for a six-game stretch, the longest road swing for the program during the regular season since 1972.
- Syracuse travels to Harvard on Saturday, February 21 in another NCAA Tournament rematch from last season. Game time is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
- Tickets and schedule information can be found at Cuse.com with home game tickets for the remaining four regular season games at cuse.com/lacrosse-tickets.
