It’s here, and its tough.
On Tuesday, Syracuse men’s lacrosse its 2026 schedule. The 16 game slate features 10 ranked opponents according to lacrosse news outlet Inside Lacrosse’s fall-ball power rankings. The Orange will also head on a six-game road trip towards the end of February that lasts until mid-March. SU won’t have to worry about impressing the selection committee with its strength of schedule, its biggest worry will be calming the storm and making it out of the regular season healthy and with a strong record.
February
Syracuse opens its season with #16 Boston University at the Dome. BU was on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament last season, but an early exit in the conference tournament and surrounding auto bid spots around the nation left the Terriers on the outside looking in. Sophomore attackman Timothy Shannehan is coming off of winning the Patriot League Freshman of the Year award after a 60-point 2025. The Orange catch their breath with an easier home matchup against St. Joesphs, but Feburary 13th presents one of the toughest matchups of the season: SU hosts #1 Maryland. The Terrapins went 2-0 against the Orange in 2025 (With one of those victories coming in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament), and have had Syracuse’s number throughout the Gary Gait era. Maryland returns top attackman Eric Spanos and defenseman Will Schaller for 2026, with both players currently projected to be 1st round PLL draft picks in May. While the Terps lost trusty goaltender Logan McNaney to graduation, incoming freshman 5-star Aidan Seibel may slot right into his place.
After that matchup, the shortest month of the year gets even longer for the ‘Cuse; Syracuse heads on the road for two top-tier Ivy League matchups. The Orange face a #15 Harvard team who they went to overtime against in the opening round of the 2025 tournament. Then, SU heads to New Jersey to face #2 Princeton. While the Tigers lost top attackman Coluter Mackesy, their offense is buoyed with big-name returners such as senior Chad Palumbo (Who had four goals against Syracuse in their tournament matchup last season), and Nate Kabiri. On top of the tough opponents, the back-to-back road environment’s won’t be an easy test for Gary Gait’s squad that must fill the shoes of Sam English and Owen Hiltz among others.
March
The road trip continues: Syracuse heads to Penn for game 3. The Quakers, while unranked to begin 2026, are a gritty Ivy League team who the Orange cannot take lightly after their February battles. The fourth leg of SU’s road trip heads to Homewood Field to face 14th ranked Johns Hopkins. The ‘Cuse won at the JMA Dome last season against JH, but now play on the road during one of the toughest stretches in all of college lacrosse. The Syracuse/Johns Hopkins rivalry never disappoints, and it lines up perfectly with the start of Syracuse University’s spring break. Students looking to catch a high-profile matchup on their way back to their east coast homes should circle March 7th on their calendar.
After that rivalry game, Syracuse heads to Denver: first against Air Force, next a Denver team looking for hardware in Head Coach Matt Brown’s third season at the helm. While the Pioneers didn’t make the NCAA Tournament in 2025, their top recruiting classes are sure to bring in reinforcements to make this a ranked matchup by the time March comes. Playing in Denver also presents a climate challenge as the visiting team is stuck battling through conditioning struggles due to the thin air. It gives all Denver sports teams an advantage, but outdoor fast-moving sports such as lacrosse amplify the issue.
Finally, Syracuse returns home to face #5 Georgetown. The Hoyas brought in two of the nation’s top 20 overall players in the portal and will look to avenge last year’s NCAA Tournament collapse. The following weekend, The Orange host #11 Duke for a rematch of last season’s ACC Championship. The Blue Devils host SSDM Aidan Maguire, the only active college player invited to Team USA’s training camp.
April
If you thought SU closed the season with a lighter stretch, you clearly haven’t ben following this article. SU begins April at #8 North Carolina. On top of returning star attackman Owen Duffy, the Tar Heels welcome star freshman Anthony Raio into the fold to headline the nation’s 5th best recruiting class. The Orange go back to the JMA Dome to face #13 Virginia and top ranked incoming freshman Brendan Millon, in addition to Colgate in the same weekend.
For the cherry on top, Syracuse ends its season at #6 Notre Dame (The team who won back-to-back championships just two years ago).
There won’t be any doubts if Syracuse men’s lacrosse will be “Tournament Ready”.
