As the football season rages on with a week 5 game approaching, lacrosse season nears. The team began practicing in early September; while many players participated in junior box lacrosse leagues over the summer, getting the team to “Mesh” quickly is paramount in an ACC conference which is widely regarded as the best lacrosse conference in the country. Their recently scheduled scrimmages will provide both Head Coach Gary Gait and Syracuse fans their first look at the 2026 roster.
October 4th: Princeton and Army
The Orange will travel to Princeton for two matchups against prestigious programs: A 2025 NCAA tournament opponent in Princeton, and an Army team who barely missed qualifying for the tournament. Syracuse narrowly edged the Tigers in 2025, a 19-18 win that sent ‘Cuse to its first Final Four weekend since 2013. This exhibition should provide answers to a key question: can a retooled Syracuse defensive core contain Princeton star senior attackman Chad Palumbo?
Until they lost to Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament, the Black Knights were shaping up to be a dark horse team with strong resume-making wins over North Carolina and Yale. They return Tewaaraton watch list member Evan Plunkett, one of the best senior midfielders in the country, and add in two five-star freshman from their 2025 recruiting class. Army provides a more physical challenge for Syracuse, blending a great day of learning between SU’s two opponents.
October 10th: Binghamton at J-D High School
Just six days after playing two potential tournament teams, the ‘Cuse will return home to play Binghamton at J-D High School just minutes from campus. The crucial piece of this second scrimmage day is to act as a buffer to fix the flaws that will be identified from the previous weekend. Binghamton can provide quality competition as a team who played close games in contests against upper tier opponents such as UAlbany and Harvard. This will also give local Syracuse fans a chance to watch their team putting the pieces tonight during some Friday night lacrosse.
After getting smothered by Maryland in the Final Four, Orange fans will want to see offensive cohesion and strong ball movement. Syracuse’s largest struggle moments in 2025 came when turnovers and bad passes mounted after one another (Think of the first half against Harvard and the first three quarters against Princeton). Secondly, they will want to see the stacked incoming freshman class begin to develop winning traits.
Both scrimmages are open to the public and free to attend. Happy fall ball, everyone! Lacrosse season is just around the corner.
