No. 7 Syracuse Outlasts No. 4 Duke, 16-15, in ACC Thriller

Saturday, March 28

Syracuse, NY

2 p.m.

Duke University

8-1, 0-1

Syracuse

9-2, 1-0

Duke

Syracuse

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 7 Syracuse Outlasts No. 4 Duke, 16-15, in ACC Thriller

3/28/2026 7:16:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Duke senior Max Sloat registered four goals, but the fourth-ranked Blue Devils came up just short in a 16-15 loss to No. 7 Syracuse in ACC men's lacrosse action inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

Freshman Michael Ortlieb added three goals and an assist and Benn Johnston also finished with a hat trick. Aidan Maguire anchored the defensive effort with two caused turnovers, two ground balls and an assist.

The top-10 matchup featured eight ties and five lead changes across the 60 minutes. Duke led three times with the last time being a 10-9 edge headed into halftime.

Trailing 16-14 with 2:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, graduate student goaltender Henry Blake made a save to give the Blue Devils the ball back with 90 seconds remaining. Sloat provided more excitement with a goal to make it a one-goal contest with 41 seconds left.

Syracuse won the ensuing faceoff, but a takeaway by Maguire gave Duke a final look to force overtime. Coming out of a timeout with 24 seconds left on the clock, Duke was whistled for a moving pick as the Orange secured the ACC win.

How it Happened

The first quarter was action-packed, featuring a combined 10 goals and 28 shots. Duke got on the board first at the 12:11 mark as Tomas Delgado finished a pass from Thomas Mencke. The assist from Mencke ended his four-game point drought.
Syracuse responded with three unanswered from three different players. The Blue Devils settled in on offense and notched four of the next five to take a 5-4 lead.
Sophomore Liam Kershis ended Duke's eight-minute scoring drought with a solo effort. Two minutes later Delgado picked up the ground ball off a save and finished it low past Jimmy McCool. Kyle Colsey and Ben McCarthy scored 13 seconds apart to push Duke back in front, 5-4.
The Orange capped the high-paced quarter with a goal with 43 seconds remaining. Duke fired 18 shots in the first quarter, while Syracuse was very efficient with five goals on 10 shots.
Joey Spallina put Syracuse back in front, 6-5, at the start of the second quarter. The fireworks continued with Johnston rifling a shot past McCool to tie the game. Goals from Payton Anderson and Spallina 31 seconds apart launched Syracuse ahead, 8-6, at the midway point of the second quarter. Spallina finished his afternoon with two goals and four assists.
Feeding off outstanding play by the defense, Duke's offense scored four goals in the final 4:38 to surge to a 10-9 halftime lead. Sloat had the final two goals of the half.
Syracuse controlled the third quarter, scoring four of the first five goals to go in front 13-11 with 4:27 left in the stanza. The Orange held Duke without a goal in the first 8:02 and to three goals in the period to take a 14-13 lead into the final 15 minutes. Johnston notched his third goal of the game in the final minute to pull the Blue Devils within one.
Anderson gave Syracuse another two-goal cushion in the first 23 seconds of the fourth. Sloat scored 40 seconds later to make it a one-goal game. The defenses took over for the next 11 minutes as neither team could find the back of the cage.
Syracuse took advantage of a Duke penalty to jump back ahead by two with 2:46 remaining. Blue Devil goalie Henry Blake made a save on the ensuing possession to give Duke the ball back. Coming out of a timeout after the clear, Sloat made it a one-goal game to set up the exciting final 40 seconds.
Blake and Patrick Jameison split duties in the cage with Blake playing the final 36:45 and making six saves. Jameison had five stops in 23 minutes. McCool had 11 saves for the Orange.
Cal Girard finished 10-of-19 at the faceoff dot with five ground balls. Ben McCarthy was 6-of-15 with three ground balls. Duke outshot Syracuse 51-42 and both teams scooped up 34 ground balls.