Quarterfinals Up Next for #7 Syracuse

No. 7 SYRACUSE (12-5) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (13-4)
Game Details	Saturday, May 16, 2026 \| Hempstead, N.Y. \| 2:30 p.m. ET
Game Coverage	Live Coverage: Stats Television: ESPNU Stream: ESPNU Listen: Cuse.com \| TK99/105 \| Learfield IMG College \| Cuse App \| Varsity App \| TuneIn \| WAER Twitter: @CuseMLAX Instagram: @CuseMLAX Facebook: CuseMLAX
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes
UNC Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes

THE GAME
- Quarterfinals are here and it's a VERY familiar foe for sixth-seeded Syracuse: North Carolina.
- The No. 7 Orange meet the fourth-ranked Tar Heels for a third time in 2026 with everything on the line. UNC got the better of Syracuse in the first two meetings, once in Chapel Hill and once in Charlotte, but Saturday's game is in the Empire State.
- 'Cuse returns to the Quarterfinals for a third-straight season, one of three teams still standing that can claim that feat for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons (Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame).
- It's a familiar and friendly venue for the Orange this weekend: James M. Shuart Stadium. Syracuse is 6-0 at this site all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including last spring's epic 19-18 win over Princeton in this same round of play.
- Last weekend, the Orange rallied back-and-forth against No. 12 Yale before outlasting the Bulldogs 16-15 to close out the Dome with an 8-0 record this spring.
- North Carolina is fresh off a 24-6 win at Dorrance Field over UAlbany last Saturday in the noon game to officially open this year's NCAA Tournament.
- Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game will be a bit of history for the Orange as Syracuse faces a team three times in the same season for the first time in program history.
- It's a full house of lacrosse talent and knowledge this weekend for ESPNU's broadcast: Anish Shroff will have the call alongside Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra and Johns Hopkins All-American Quint Kessenich. Dana Boyle, an All-ACC midfielder at Virginia, will report from the sidelines.
- The game will also air on the Syracuse Sports Network with Tim Leonard and Kyle Fetterly on the call for TK99/105 in Syracuse, through Cuse.com, The Varsity App, and the TuneIn app.
- Syracuse student-radio station WAER will be on hand as well for the game.
- The winners of Saturday's game gets the winner of the day's opener between second-seeded Notre Dame and unseeded Johns Hopkins. That game begins at Noon on ESPNU as well.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
- Even for a program as old as Syracuse men's lacrosse, there is always the potential for something new.
- Saturday will be the first time in program history the Orange play a team three times in the same season.
- A large factor in this was Syracuse's independent status and not playing in a conference tournament until joining the BIG EAST in 2010 and eventually the ACC.
- The Orange will look to put the old saying that it's hard to beat a team three times into effect this weekend; UNC topped the Orange 14-9 in Chapel Hill in early April before a 12-10 loss for Syracuse at the ACC Tournament in early May.
- A helpful factor this time around: Saturday's game is in Syracuse's home state, not the Tar Heels'.

BATTLE TESTED
- Of the 16 teams that entered the NCAA Tournament, few are as battle tested as Syracuse.
- The Orange have played eight games against Tournament teams, including North Carolina twice in the regular season and ACC Tournament, and now a third time on Saturday.
- The Tar Heels played 11 games against NCAA Tournament teams prior to the Tournament's start, while Virginia played nine.
- Notre Dame and Princeton played seven apiece.
- Cornell and Yale have also played seven games against postseason foes, but both sit at 3-4 entering this weekend.
- Now with the field cut in half, Syracuse is familiar with six of the other seven teams still standing having played Princeton, Georgetown, Duke, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, and Notre Dame during the 2026 season.
- The Orange are 3-4 against those six schools this season, getting wins over Georgetown and Duke at home while clipping the Blue Jays in Baltimore.
- The four losses all came away from the Dome, but only one was a neutral-site defeat against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
- In a twist of fate, the two teams with the most games played against the remainder of the field at opponents; Syracuse and North Carolina have each played seven times against the remaining teams. Syracuse is 3-4 while the Tar Heels at 4-3. Notre Dame (4-0), Princeton (2-1) and Penn State (2-2) are the only other Quarterfinalists with multiple wins against the field.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
- Improve Syracuse to 21-15 all-time against North Carolina in a series dating back to 1981.
- Secure the 73rd NCAA Tournament win all-time.
- Bump the Syracuse record to 5-2 against the Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament
- Be the 29th NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal win for Syracuse in program history and improve the Orange to 4-1 as a six seed.
- Secure a berth at Championship Weekend for a second-straight year, the first time since 2008-09 the Orange would make the final four in back-to-back years.
- Improve Syracuse to 7-0 all-time at Shuart Stadium in the NCAA Tournament and adjust the team's record at this venue to 3-0 under Gary Gait including the regular season.
- Be the 974th win in program history, the second-most all-time among Division I programs.

Syracuse University Athletics

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