Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Following its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 and victory since 2017, No. 2 Syracuse is back in action Saturday against Jacksonville. The Dolphins are coached by former SU goalie John Galloway, who helped the Orange win back-to-back national championships in 2009 and 2010.

Syracuse returns a plethora of talent from the team that made the NCAA Quarterfinal last season. Joey Spallina, Owen Hiltz, Finn Thomson and others are back as SU begins its quest for its first Final Four appearance since 2013 and national championship since Galloway was the goalie. The expectations are high.

Jacksonville is the first step along the way for Syracuse. The Dolphins have never made the NCAA Tournament, but have come close in the past four seasons. They lost in the Southern Conference championship game to Richmond in 2022 and, after switching conferences, lost in the Atlantic Sun Conference final to Utah last year.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) will fare against Jacksonville (0-0, 0-0 ASUN) in its season-opener.

Cooper Andrews (0-0)
Pipe dream
Syracuse 16, Jacksonville 14

It’d be a dream come true for Galloway to shock the No. 2-ranked Orange on the same field he roamed over a decade ago. But, it’s still a pipe dream. Syracuse is uber-talented everywhere on the field, namely led by Spallina at X and Billy Dwan as its star close defender. I don’t know if the Dolphins can handle this SU squad from a personnel perspective.

Still, I think it’ll be close. There’s a major underlying question mark for Syracuse this season: what’s it going to do at goalie? Standout LIU transfer Will Mark graduated. That seemed to leave Jimmy McCool as the sure-to-be starter, right? Well, SU head coach Gary Gait expressed little confidence in his goalie position, not naming a confirmed starter and instead imploring that “Obviously, someone’s got to start.”

That doesn’t give me much faith that McCool — or Syracuse’s other options in Kyle Rolley, Michael Ippoliti and Brayden Ferguson — will start the year strong. The Orange face a clear learning curve between the pipes after Mark’s departure. A Jacksonville attack led by Jackson Intrieri, an All-ASUN Second-Team member in 2024, will give SU trouble.

Will it be enough to upset the Orange? No. Yet, goalie struggles seem imminent for Syracuse, at least early in the 2025 campaign.

Zak Wolf (0-0)
Not a happy homecoming
Syracuse 17, Jacksonville 10

Syracuse is by far the more talented team in this matchup, but Jacksonville shouldn’t be taken lightly. The Dolphins pose a threat on offense with their high-paced style. They may have lost last season’s leading scorer, Jacob Greiner, but Intrieri — who’s logged 174 points in three seasons — is an adequate replacement. With that being said, I do think Syracuse wins this one relatively comfortably in the end.

I think Saturday will play out similarly to SU’s NCAA Tournament win over Townson last season. Jacksonville might hang around in the first half, but eventually, Syracuse will go on a run and separate itself. Spallina tore apart teams like Jacksonville last season, and this won’t be any different. He should have a big day to spearhead a strong offensive performance. Jacksonville simply doesn’t have enough defense to contain Syracuse for a full 60 minutes.

Another key advantage for Syracuse comes at the faceoff spot. Jacksonville lost its starting faceoff man Nathan Kapp from a year ago, and John Mullen should have a field day with whoever the Dolphins put out there. Mullen keeping the ball out of JU’s sticks will be a key factor to Syracuse starting the season on a positive note.

Nicholas Alumkal (0-0)
Down go the Dolphins
Syracuse 18, Jacksonville 6

The last time Syracuse lost its season-opener was in 2021 when it fell 18-11 to then-No. 12 Army. It’s won the first game of the campaign every season since. That trend will continue in 2025. Though Jacksonville narrowly fell in the ASUN Championship last year, it lost its top goalscorer in Greiner and its lead faceoff specialist, Kapp, who also picked up a team-high 120 ground balls.

Galloway is one of the best athletes in Syracuse history. But even if he’s as good a coach as he was a goaltender — which hasn’t been proven with a 66-49 record through eight seasons — the Dolphins have a snowman in a hot tub chance to defeat the juggernaut Syracuse.

Simply, the Orange have too much depth and pedigree for Jacksonville. With the lingering question of who starts in net for SU, I see Gait affording chances to multiple goaltenders to assess who will be the No. 1 netminder going forward. I also expect SU to score early and often, allowing multiple players to get involved and shake off any offseason rust before its opposition gets turned up versus No. 17 Towson on Feb. 10 and No. 5 Maryland on Feb. 15.

Published on January 30, 2025 at 12:41 am