Syracuse men’s lacrosse announces 2026 home opponents

Syracuse, N.Y. —A Final Four and ACC championship game rematch, two first-time visitors and a long-time rival that has produced some of the best games in program history highlight the 2026 Syracuse men’s lacrosse home slate.

Syracuse announced the seven teams that will visit the JMA Dome on Tuesday. All seven finished inside the Top 25 in RPI last year, a key metric in deciding who makes the NCAA Tournament in lacrosse.

Times and dates for the matchups will be announced later, but here’s a look at who SU will face at home in 2026:

Boston University

The Terriers will not only be making their first-ever trip to the dome, it will be the first matchup ever between Syracuse and BU.

Boston went 11-5 last season, losing to Colgate in the Patriot League championship game.

Inside Lacrosse rates Boston at No. 16 in its “way-ahead” preseason Top 25.

The Terriers return Patriot League Freshman of the Year Timothy Shannehan, who had 61 points last season (32G, 29A).

Colgate

The Raiders and Orange will matchup for the 65th time in 2026 with SU holding a 51-12-1 record in the all-time series.

SU has won six of the last seven matchups with Colgate.

Joey Spallina scored a career-high 11 points in SU’s 16-12 victory over Colgate last season.

The Raiders finished 10-8 last season and won the Patriot League, eventually losing to Penn State in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.

Colgate lost a few key players to the transfer portal including its top two scorers Liam and Rory Connor (Georgetown) and senior defenseman Quinn Fitzsimmons (Johns Hopkins).

Duke

The Blue Devils finished 12-6 last season, losing to Georgetown in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse split two match-ups with the Blue Devils last season, losing 11-7 on April 19 in Durham but getting revenge in the ACC Championship game with a 9-8 victory.

Duke returns goaltender Patrick Jameison, who finished second in the ACC with a .973 save percentage.

Duke was also aggressive in the transfer portal in bringing in offensive talents Kyle Colsey and Thomas Mencke from Virginia and Owen Gaffney (Harvard) as the Blue Devils lost top scorers Eric Malever (34g, 34a) and Andrew McAdorey (22g, 22a).

Georgetown

Georgetown will be making its first visit to the dome since 2012. This will be the first time SU and Georgetown have met overall since 2021.

The Hoyas finished 12-5 last season, winning the Big East but eventually losing in the NCAA quarterfinals to Maryland.

Georgetown lost top scorer Aidan Carroll, but returns seven of its top 10 scorers from last season and added Colgate’s top two scorers, Liam and Rory Connor, via the portal.

The Connors are a major addition for the Hoyas as they combined for 173 points for Colgate last season. Both finished in the top seven nationally in scoring.

The Hoyas also feature a Top 10 face-off specialist in Ross Prince and a top-tier goalie in Anderson Moore, who finished seventh in the country with a 9.01 goals-against-average last season.

Inside Lacrosse rates the Hoyas at No. 5 in its way-too-early Top 25.

Maryland

Maryland has been the most annoying thorn in Syracuse’s side the past decade.

The Terps ended Syracuse’s 2025 season at the Final Four at Gillette Stadium last season, beating the Orange 14-8 in Foxborough, Mass.

Maryland also beat Syracuse 11-7 in the regular season and have defeated the Orange eight straight times.

Maryland eventually lost to Cornell in the 2025 national championship game, its seventh trip to the title game in the last 10 years and the 18th in program history.

Maryland is always a national championship contender and the 2026 season should be no different.

The Terps graduate three of their top six scorers but return leading scorers Eric Spanos (36g, 19a) and Braden Erksa (33g, 15a).

A key loss for the Terps is goaltender Logan McNaney, one of the best keepers in program history.

Senior longpole Will Schaller will return as a instant Defensive Player of the Year candidate for the Terps.

Maryland made of the best moves in the transfer portal bringing in face-off specialist Henry Dodge from Vermont. Dodge led the country with a .713 winning percentage at the face-off X last season.

Saint Joseph’s

Syracuse will face St. Joseph’s for the first time in 2026.

The Hawks finished 9-6 last season, losing in the Atlantic 10 Championship to High Point.

Attack Ben Dutton, who led the A-10 with 47 goals as a freshman in 2025, returns for his sophomore season.

The Hawks lost third-leading scorer Mark Watters to the transfer portal (Penn State). Watters recorded 25 goals last season.

Virginia

One of the greatest rivalries in college lacrosse renews at the dome in 2026.

The all-time series between SU and Virginia is airtight, with the Orange holding a 22-21 advantage.

SU has won two straight against the Cavaliers, including a 12-10 win in Charlottesville last season. SU’s 18-17 win over Virginia at the JMA Dome in 2024 was a back-and-forth thriller.

Last season went off the rail by the program’s high standards as the Cavaliers finished 6-8 and missed the NCAA Tournament under Lafayette native Lars Tiffany. It was the first losing season in Charlottesville since 2016.

Virginia returns leading scorers Truitt Sunderland and McCabe Millon.

The Cavs also return defenseman John Schroter, who held Spallina to just one assist in last season’s matchup.