ACC lacrosse dominates NCAA semifinals as Syracuse eyes two wins and a national title

Following defeats in the regular season to both North Carolina and Notre Dame, Syracuse coach Gary Gait alluded to the fact that his team was likely to see one, if not both, of his ACC rivals somewhere later in the season, meaning the NCAA Tournament.

When the 2026 Tourney bracket was first revealed May 3, sure enough, the scenarios were in place by the seeding to have the 'Cuse meet Carolina in the quarterfinals, then with a victory, Notre Dame in the semifinals.

That is exactly what will transpire at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. this Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET / ESPN2), where rainy weather and cool temerpatures are forecast on what is a grass field surface.

ACC domination in NCAA lacrosse continues full steam ahead

Two ACC teams playing for the national championship is not a rarity, with Notre Dame defeating Duke in 2023 to win its first title. If the Blue Devils pull off the upset of top-seed Princeton in Saturday's first semifinal, then ACC teams will repeat that scenario just three seasons later.

In fact, at least one current ACC team has reached the national semifinals in 45 of the last 47 tournaments, and the five active ACC teams have combined for 27 national championships, including 11 of the last 17, which dates back to the Orange's last title in 2009 under John Desko.

Four of the five ACC head coaches have won national titles, with three of those four coaches having won multiple championships. Of course, Gait is looking to join that exclusive club, and garner the one item missing on his resume which is a collegiate head coaching championship.

Syracuse is playing on 'Championship Weekend' for the 29th time, eyeing its 12th NCAA Title

In the current format to play for a national title, SU has made the second most semifinal appearances of any NCAA program, and no other program has double-digit NCAA titles (Johns Hopkins has nine).

This season becomes the first with back-to-back 'Cuse teams making the Final Four since the consecutive national titles in 2008-09 (Syracuse played four straight years in the championship game between 1999-2002).

"We were fat and happy last year, (just to make the semifinals), to be honest," Joey Spallina said Saturday after his 3-and-3 performance in the 13-11 comeback win over Carolina. "it's night and day now. We have a great leadership group, it's a different year."

Getting the Syracuse lacrosse name brand back on the national stage is also the culmination of the five-year rebuild Gait has put together since moving down the hallway from leading the SU women's lax program. As he stated succinctly last Saturday the program is, "relevant again."

"It took a couple of years from putting together a coaching staff and taking over the program five years ago," Gait said.

"Year one was tough (4-10)," Gait added. "But from there we have been in the mix ever since. It works not just on the field, but from recruiting bringing in the right guys that fits the style, and here we are. Back-to-back Final Fours with a chance to play in the semis, try to reach the final, and compete for the championship."

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