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3 takeaways from No. 19 Syracuse's 18-15 loss to No. 2 Duke

Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. Photo Credit: The Juice Online/Nick Salamone.
Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. Photo Credit: The Juice Online/Nick Salamone.
Nick Salamone • The Juice Online
Staff Writer
Nick is a Central New Yorker at heart, currently living in Eastern North Carolina. A lifelong Syracuse fan, he has been covering Syracuse Athletics since 2016.

No. 19 Syracuse closed its 2023 season with a loss to No. 2 Duke on the road on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Syracuse makes a run

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It appeared Duke was going to sail to another win over the Orange at the end of the third quarter with the Blue Devils owning a commanding 15-9 lead. But Syracuse, as it has all season, continued to play through to the end.

Syracuse scored four straight goals to start the fourth quarter, with Jackson Birtwistle scoring on two man-up opportunities, which was bookended by Cole Kirst and Michael Leo goals. Joey Spallina assisted on two of them as the Orange crowd at one point drowned out cheers from the Duke faithful.

The Blue Devils responded with two goals of their own, and a costly turnover from Alex Simmons led to an Aidan Maguire goal with four minutes left that quelled SU’s momentum.

“Super proud of this team for trying to find answers and climbing back,” Gait said. “We’re encouraged to come back next year.”

Familiar faceoff issues doom Syracuse

The Orange have been one of the worst teams at the X this season, winning just over 40 percent of its faceoffs.

That trend continued against Duke on Saturday, with Syracuse winning just 13 of 35 opportunities. Jack Fine struggled against Jake Naso, winning just 7 of 22 before he gave way to Johnny Richiusa, who mostly played Naso even at 6 of 13.

Most of Naso's damage came in the second quarter, when he won 8 of 9 at the X, though the Blue Devils didn't necessarily take advantage, outscoring the Orange 5-3 and actually drawing on shots on goal, 8-8.

It will certainly be Syracuse's top priority in the offseason.

"We're going to focus on faceoffs and ground balls and get better (in the offseason)," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. If we can do that, we have a solid defense, solid offense, and next year we'll be a completely different team if we fill those things and improve in those areas."

Will Mark keeps Syracuse close, but not close enough

Will Mark has been under constant duress this season as Syracuse has played defense more than any team in the country. But once again, Mark showed he is one of the top goalies in lacrosse, notching 10 saves on the 28 shots on goal from Duke.

Half of those came in the critical opening period, when Mark faced 10 shots on goal and stymied the Blue Devils five times. He was one of the reasons why SU was in reaching distance of Duke after the first quarter, 5-3. Still, even Mark faded in the second half, notching only two saves, and couldn’t stop Charles Balsamo on a man-up opportunity with :32 left.

That goal ultimately put the game out of reach for SU, as Balsamo made an ‘it’s over’ gesture at the end of that play that also got him flagged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

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