Syracuse men’s lacrosse erased a four-goal second-half deficit to defeat No. 19 Penn, 9-8, in overtime Sunday afternoon at Franklin Field.
No. 7 Syracuse (4-2) trailed 8-4 midway through the third quarter after Penn scored three straight goals to seize momentum. The Orange responded with five unanswered goals to complete the comeback and secure their first road win of the season.
Finn Thomson led the rally with three goals, recording his second hat trick of the year. Michael Leo finished with two goals and two assists, including the game-winner 26 seconds into overtime. Joey Spallina added a goal and three assists, while close defenseman Billy Dwan III tied the game at 8-8 with 9:45 remaining in regulation.
Penn (2-3) was paced by Jackson Maher, who totaled two goals and two assists. Davis Provost scored twice, and Griffin Scane added a goal and an assist. Jack Pelot made 10 saves for the Quakers.
Syracuse opened the scoring on a Thomson goal but entered halftime trailing 5-4. Penn extended its lead to four in the third before Spallina ignited the comeback late in the quarter. Thomson scored twice in a span of just over three minutes bridging the third and fourth quarters to trim the deficit to one.
After Dwan’s tying goal, both defenses tightened, with Syracuse limiting Penn to six fourth-quarter shots. Goaltender Jimmy McCool made 10 saves in 60-plus minutes to earn the win.
Syracuse held a 23-18 edge in ground balls, while Penn won 12-of-18 faceoffs. The victory improved Syracuse to 27-1-1 all-time against Penn.
The Orange travel to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 7. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].