Syracuse men's lacrosse suffers tough home loss to Harvard

Photo by Joohee Na

Saturday was a nightmare for Syracuse. For the first time since the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2006, the Orange faced off against Harvard, and just about nothing went right after the first quarter. Syracuse opened the game with vengeance after last weekend's loss to Maryland but quickly lost all firepower. The Orange went on to lose 15-14.

Owen Hiltz started strong, netting a top-left goal just a minute in. Less than a minute later, he struck again, tagging the near-side corner. Just 23 seconds after that, Finn Thompson dunked on the Harvard goalie from close range, assisted by Joey Spallina.

All three goals were courtesy of John Mullen's dominance at the face-off X. Harvard didn't touch the ball in the first three possessions. Mullen lost the fourth face-off, but the defense bailed him out, forcing a shot-clock violation on Harvard's first possession.

Two defensive stops later, Sam English dodged left, rolled back, and buried a right-handed underhand goal. Just 35 seconds after that, Hiltz found English wide open again, and the Harvard goalie was already having a rough day just six minutes in. By the nine-minute mark, Syracuse had landed five shots on goal and converted all five, while Harvard had yet to register a shot.

"They scored five on me, I didn't even touch the ball. And all I wanted was just someone to pass it to me in the clear so I could feel the ball," said Harvard goalie Graham Stevens. "Once I felt the ball, I was settled in, ready to go and just ready to play. If I'm calm, if our defenders are calm, we're gonna be a very good unit."

At the seven-minute mark, Harvard finally broke through with its first goal. The game slowed until a Harvard attackman dodged to the goal, drawing a penalty. However, he stepped in the crease, wiping out his goal.

The 30-second penalty put Syracuse a man down, and just ten seconds later, Harvard's Andrew Perry capitalized. A three-goal Harvard run was capped off by Teddy Malone, assisted by Jack Spiedell.

During the run, Stevens woke up, saving the next three shots.

But it didn't last long. A failed clear saw Carter Rice pick up a ground ball, split a double team, and dish to Joey Spallina, who threw a diving pass to Finn Thompson. Thompson finished on a runner with three seconds left in the first quarter.

Harvard opened the second quarter by cutting the Syracuse lead to 6-4 with a Jack Spiedell goal. Spallina quickly answered, pushing it back to three, but Harvard responded again, making it 7-5. The back-and-forth continued as Thompson dodged from X, faking out even the camera operator before burying a no-look right-handed goal.

Harvard fought back with two goals in under a minute from Andrew Perry and John Aurandt, cutting the lead to 8-7 with 4:45 to go. Syracuse answered with a two-goal run—Hiltz, assisted by Spallina, netted his third of the day, followed by Michael Leo dodging left and blowing by his defender for a bounce shot.

Harvard stayed close, scoring just before halftime to make it 10-8. The early rout seemed inevitable, but unwavering resilience from the Crimson kept it tight.

"We got three goals in a row, they end up scoring right at the end of the quarter, but from that point on, I wouldn't say we dominated, but we outscored them by six or seven goals after that," said Harvard head coach Gerry Byrne.

Harvard opened the second half with back-to-back goals, tying the game. Logan Ip cut the lead to one, then Teddy Malone equalized. After Malone's goal, Syracuse made a change in net, pulling Jimmy McCool, who had just five saves on the day, in favor of sophomore Michael Ippoliti.

"Jimmy's our starter, and I'm sure he'd like a chance to get back in there and prove he's better than that. He's a great kid and a good leader, and he's gonna get that opportunity," said head coach Gary Gait.

Ippoliti, an accomplished high school goalie, hadn't seen meaningful minutes in his first two seasons at Syracuse. But he was called upon in the third quarter against No. 15 Harvard.

"He [McCool] had ten goals against and just five saves when we made the decision, hoping that Michael Ippoliti would be a spark and help us turn it back on," said Gait.

Harvard's John Aurandt closed the third quarter by tying the game at 12.

In the fourth quarter, Teddy Malone gave Harvard the lead, 13-12. Soon after, Jackson Birtwhistle went down with an apparent left leg injury. He had to be helped off the field without putting weight on the leg.

Following Malone's goal, Miles Botkiss extended Harvard's lead to 14-12. A few minutes later, after a Syracuse turnover, the Orange found themselves a man down due to a penalty on the Crimson clear. Harvard capitalized, scoring to make it 15-12.

Syracuse caught a break when John Mullen won a face-off, allowing the Orange to kill off the penalty. Mullen also set the sophomore record for face-offs won in a single game.

After a contact-to-the-head penalty, Harvard went man-down, and Owen Hiltz took advantage, bringing Syracuse back within one, 15-14. But the Orange couldn't mount anything after that and fell to Harvard in their first meeting since 2006.

Coming into the season, Syracuse was ranked No. 2 in the nation. After blowing out their early opponents, the Orange have struggled ever since. Losing to Maryland was understandable; they're a Final Four-caliber team. But losing to Harvard—a rebuilding team—raises major concerns.

"The Maryland loss was, kind of like, okay. Maryland's good. They're a Final Four team; I understand, if you don't make the plays, you lose that one. They're one of the best teams in the country year in and year out. Today is, you know, a little different," said Coach Gait.

He's not wrong—today was different. If Syracuse dropped four spots in the rankings after the Maryland loss, things could get ugly after losing to No. 15 Harvard.

And the road doesn't get easier. While Utah isn't ranked, East Coast teams historically struggle traveling to Salt Lake City.

There's no lack of urgency anymore—another loss could be disastrous for this team's future. The biggest players need to step up. One point in the box score won't cut it for preseason All-American Joey Spallina.

Even still, 14 goals should be enough to win. After all, Maryland beat Syracuse last week with only 11. The defense must find its way back to reality—quickly.