Syracuse men’s lacrosse returns to the Final Four after beating UNC

Joey Spallina kept Syracuse on the sport’s biggest spring stage, finishing with three goals and three assists as the Orange beat North Carolina 13-11 on Saturday at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York, and returned to the Final Four.

The No. 6 seed had already survived a one-goal test at home, edging Yale 16-15 on May 10 at the JMA Wireless Dome before carrying that momentum into the quarterfinals. Finn Thomson added three goals against the Tar Heels, and John Mullen won 11 ground balls in a game summary that showed Syracuse controlling enough of the middle of the field to finish the job.

That victory put the Orange back into Championship Weekend for the second straight year and extended a run that has Syracuse University back in the national lacrosse conversation. Syracuse finished the 2026 regular season 13-5, and the official NCAA bracket lists the program as advancing to the semifinals after a tournament that began May 6 and ends May 25 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

For Onondaga County, the run carries meaning beyond another postseason result. Syracuse lacrosse is one of the city’s signature sports, and another trip to the Final Four keeps the program visible for fans, alumni, and the campus community at a time when local attention is often pulled in a dozen directions. Gary Gait, in his fifth year leading the men’s program, has now guided the Orange back to Championship Weekend after a season that followed last year’s 13-6 finish and marked the program’s first return to that round since 2013.

What to watch next is a semifinal matchup with Notre Dame, with Syracuse trying to turn two straight trips to the Final Four into a deeper run in Charlottesville. If the Orange keep advancing, the result will ripple well beyond the scoreboard, giving Syracuse another national showcase and keeping Central New York locked into a sport that still helps define the city’s athletic identity.