SYRACUSE, N.Y. — At 11-5 on the season, Syracuse men’s lacrosse have batted through some adversity for a conference crown to help their confidence heading into the dance.
“We played well. We can beat anybody,” head coach Gary Gait said. “The fact that we’re ACC champs, we’re happy about that. It shows that we’re handling pressure a little bit better.”
For a team that spent a couple of years on the outside of the tournament looking in, they responded with an entry last year and a big swing of momentum coming into this year.
“I think just figuring out how to win with our backs against the wall, when the stakes are high,” midfielder Sam English, a recent 1st round pick in the Premier Lacrosse League draft, said of the team’s evolution. “I think we went into that weekend not being unsure of where we were standing.”
English is joined by fellow captains Billy Dwan, Owen Hiltz and Kaden Col. They represent the leadership recruited entirely under the Gait regime heading into its fourth season.
“They’re as important as the coaches are, in winning the ACC Championship for sure,” Gait said. “You know, it’s a leadership team, and the coaches and the captains, we talk a lot and we make sure that the culture is where it needs to be.”
Those captains and that culture has been on full display through the last two games against top tier opponents that set the tone for a rematch with Harvard, a team the Orange dropped a game to this season by a single goal.
“You don’t get another game if you lose this one. So, keeping it there and 100% focused on this next game is massive for us,” English said.
A second trip back to the tournament marks a gritty return to prominence for a storied program and one last date with the dome for all of Orange Nation.
“It’s a really special spot just for for me and the seniors,” he added. “It’ll be an important game to to finish there with a win.”
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