Mount Sinai's Joey Spallina helps propel Syracuse into men's lacrosse Final Four
Syracuse attack Joey Spallina heads to the net, as Princeton defense Colin Mulshine defends in the Men's division I quarterfinals, Saturday, May 17, 2025 at Hofstra University. Credit: George A. Faella
It was a heavyweight brawl.
For 60 minutes, two of the sport’s traditional powers — 17 national championships and 38 Final Four appearances between the programs — exchanged body blows. Hard shots. Daring the other to take a backward step.
And in the end, a kid from Mount Sinai landed the hardest punches.
“It was crazy,” Joey Spallina said after his four-goal, four-assist performance spearheaded Syracuse’s 19-18 win over Princeton in an NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon at Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium.
Syracuse (13-5) advanced to the Final Four next Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where they will meet the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal between Georgetown and Maryland.
“It feels great,” Orange coach Gary Gait said. “The culture, the leadership and their belief in each other came though [on Sunday].”
On the other side, Princeton (13-4) began the two-hour drive back to Mercer County, New Jersey, trying to come to terms with the reality that this particular iteration of the Tigers’ lacrosse team will not return for another campaign.
“Any time a season comes to an end and you got to say goodbye to your senior class, I think that’s the hardest part of these moments,” Princeton coach Matt Madalon said.
Especially given that the Tigers had chances to win.
Princeton went ahead 18-17 on Nate Kabiri’s 32nd goal of the season with 4:54 remaining. Syracuse responded with two goals in a 31-second span to regain a 19-18 lead.
Seaford’s Michael Leo whipped a sidearm shot from the left side past Princeton goaltender Ryan Croddick (13 saves) to tie it at 18 with 4:21 remaining and Owen Hiltz’s goal with 3:50 left gave the Orange a 19-18 lead.
Princeton led 11-10 after a first half in which the Tigers had five different goal-scorers and Syracuse had seven players score. Coulter Mackesy, Chad Palumbo and Peter Buonanno scored three goals apiece in the opening 30 minutes for the Tigers. Spallina scored four of Syracuse’s 10 goals in the first half.
“It was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of,” said Palumbo, who totaled six goals.
Gait was forced to make a temporary goaltending change early in the second half after starter Jimmy McCool (12 saves) committed a two-minute penalty for unnecessary roughness with one second left in the first half. While he served the penalty, Farmingdale’s Michael Ippoliti took over in net for four minutes and eight seconds. He made one save before McCool was reinserted into the game.
“He is one of the best goalies I’ve ever seen,” McCool said of Ippoliti. “He’s a great goalie, so I had complete trust that he was going to make the save.”
The final 30 minutes picked up where the first 30 ended.
Syracuse outscored Princeton 6-1 in the third quarter and took a 16-12 advantage into the fourth quarter.
It did not last.
John Dunphey’s goal at 3:05 sparked a four-goal outburst for the Tigers that tied the score at 16. Palumbo scored twice in a matter of seconds and Cooper Mueller’s strike at 4:58 drew Princeton even.
Oakdale’s Tyler McCarthy put the Orange ahead 17-16 at 5:59 with his fourth goal of the season, only to see Princeton’s Sean Cameron tie it 38 seconds later.
“Two things we preached this year were trust and love,” Princeton’s Michael Bath said. “Whatever’s going on in the game — whether we’re up five or down five — just rely on those pillars.”
