The Syracuse Orange came ready to party on Saturday evening in the JMA Dome.
It was their final regular season Dome game, Senior Day and Joey Spallina’s pursuit of history, and they were ready to celebrate all of it.
And while they did exactly that in their 14-7 win over the Colgate Raiders, it wasn’t without a fair share of party crashing from the evening’s guests.
Colgate brought their trademark frenetic style to the party and used it to play the role of aggressor for a good chunk of the night, especially in a first half when their 10-man ride caused four failed clears and 10 turnovers from the Orange.
It was a bit of a messy performance from ‘Cuse, who were perhaps having a little too much fun at their own party. There were the turnovers and clears, another wildly inconsistent night on face-offs, and a defensive performance that gave up a lot of open looks and was fortunate to not give up more given how many pipes the Raiders pinged.
To be honest, though, none of that matters all that much. Because, in the end, the night belonged to Joey Spallina and his senior classmates, who celebrated their big night in the most Syracuse lacrosse way possible: by flying high and electrifying the Dome with highlight-reel play after highlight-reel play.
The seniors made more of their day that any year in recent memory. Joey led the way with a big, seven-point performance on two goals and five assists as he ended up picking the perfect night to surpass Mike Powell’s program-record of 307 career points.
Michael Leo and Finn Thomson teamed up for a huge night of their own, with both scoring four goals and adding an assist for five points each. They balanced it perfectly, with Michael scoring all four of his goals in the first half and Finn tallying all of his in the second half. Luke Rhoa had a strong game, as well, finishing with three points on a goal and two key assists in the third quarter when the outcome of the game was still very much in doubt.
The defensive seniors were no slouches themselves, led by Jimmy McCool’s 10 saves and .588 save percentage. In front of him, Riley Figueiras had three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while Billy Dwan had two CTs and two GBs. (also, it’s probably important to keep in mind that Jimmy and Riley have a year of eligibility left even though they’re members of this senior class).
With ‘Cuse already possessing a 1-0 lead just a couple minutes in, Joey tied Mike Powell’s record with his first point of the day on an excellent bit of hustle on the ride. With the goalie out of the cage and the defenders trying to clear the ball, Joey got up in the grill of one of their poles, who tried to pass backwards out of it. But Joey’s effort was too much, as he picked off the pass and immediately deposited the ball in the empty net for the goal and his program-tying 307th career point. It was a very appropriate way to tie Mike, given that Joey’s spent his career giving as much hustle as possible to create turnovers on the ride. His latest CT helped him touch the points record.
A few minutes later, Leo made what was the first of a handful of highlight-reel plays when he caught a transition pass from Jayden Kittelberger right in front of the crease. With his back initially facing the goal and his body still moving across the front of the crease, Michael pump faked a backwards-facing shot between his legs before spinning around on the run and finishing high for a 3-0 lead that had some dirty flare to it.
When you have the chance, do it ADAP.#HHH x #LikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/KP2XxkHCSA
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) April 19, 2026
Colgate would answer with back-to-back goals to bring it within one, but with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Joey and Michael decided they’d had enough of waiting and connected on an appropriately spectacular goal that officially broke the record as Joey’s 308th point of his career.
After Bogue Hahn underhand flipped him the ball, Joey ran up from GLE on the right side and threw a bold BTB pass to Michael, who was running diagonally across the right side in the opposite direction. Michael received the pass and instantly threw an opposite-handed BTB shot in to beat the goalie and finish off the historic moment.
History.#HHH x #LIkeNoOther pic.twitter.com/o5JzP6XVAQ
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) April 18, 2026
The goal was perfect in so many ways, acting as a literal manifestation of what makes Orange lacrosse unique. All in one, the goal showed off skill, precision, intelligence, feel, touch and an audacious cockiness to believe that you could pull off such an amazing sequence. That belief is what turned Syracuse lacrosse into the legendary program its been for decades, and it was the perfect program record-setter for the Gary Gait-coached, modern-day No. 22.
It was also pretty sweet that Joey got to execute the moment with roommate Michael Leo as his family watched on; a very cool moment that will live long in the memory and be replayed for years to come.
Actually, they enjoyed the moment so much, they thought they’d try something similar just a few minutes later. With just seconds left in the first quarter, a little role-reversal saw Michael operating from X and hitting Joey with a pass out in front of goal that he finished off with a beautiful BTB goal of his own.