Syracuse men’s lacrosse releases 2023 schedule

The Orange have a difficult schedule that’s got a bit of a different look to it this year. Who’s ready for February?

Welcome to your early look into 2023 Syracuse lacrosse fans!

There’s something that warms your heart to get a lacrosse schedule drop as we barrel towards winter, and that’s exactly what happened on Thursday when the Syracuse Orange men’s lacrosse team revealed their slate for the 2023 season.

First, let me give you the schedule by-the-numbers:

• 15 total games
• 9 home, 6 road
• 6 conference, 9 non-conference
• 4 against NCAA Tournament teams from last year

There’s your basic numerical breakdown. Now, let’s quickly go through the headlines to be found on this schedule (or not found, as the case may be), and there are some significant ones:

• No Cornell or Army
• Princeton back on for first time in 10 years
• Hofstra back on for first time in 20 years
• Traditional non-conference games: Johns Hopkins, Hobart, Albany
• Three brand new or quasi-new opponents (St. Bonaventure, Vermont, Holy Cross)
• Road game at defending national champion Maryland
• 6 conference games — No ACC Tournament
• North Carolina and Duke are the repeat opponents this year
• 9 of first 11 games at home — Final 4 games on the road

So, I think it’s safe to say that the 2023 Syracuse schedule has something of a unique look to it.

The idea of Syracuse not playing Cornell and Army came as a huge shock to me and it’s one that will take a while to adjust to. I think I might need to make it all the way through February before I fully grasp that a hard-fought Army game isn’t right around the corner.

While the omissions are disappointing, seeing the Syracuse-Princeton rivalry back on the schedule for the first time in a decade is just a glorious sight as far as I’m concerned. It’s also cool to see the Upstate vs. Long Island matchup with Hofstra back in the regular season for the first time since 2003. That game has been a preseason scrimmage for too long now.

I’m glad that we decided to keep some of our traditional rivals so the schedule looks at least vaguely familiar with Hopkins, Hobart and Albany. And to be honest, the new opponents on the schedule will probably (we hope) be good for the overall health of the team’s record this season, so that’s nice. That’s especially important when we’re playing Maryland, Princeton and the full slate of six ACC games.

The breakdown of the home and road games is a little peculiar, as well. The final home game of the season is going to take place on April 1, and then the Orange spend the rest of April on the road for the season’s final four games. It’s great that we have so many home games this season, but I do wish we didn’t spend the entire final month of the season hitting the road for what will be a punishing stretch.

Okay, once and for all, here is the full schedule that Gary Gait and his team will be facing off with once the calendar turns to 2023 (home games in Bold):

• vs Vermont — Feb 4 (Sat)
• vs Albany — Feb 10 (Fri)
• vs Holy Cross — Feb 12 (Sun)
• at Maryland — Feb 18 (Sat)
• vs North Carolina — Feb 26 (Sun) — ACC
• vs Duke — Mar 5 (Sun) — ACC
• vs Johns Hopkins — Mar 11 (Sat)
• at Hofstra — Mar 14 (Tue)
• vs St. Bonaventure — Mar 21 (Tue)
• vs Hobart — Mar 25 (Sat)
• vs Notre Dame — Apr 1 (Sat) — ACC
• at Princeton — Apr 8 (Sat)
• North Carolina — Apr 15 (Sat) *currently listed as site TBD on athletics website, but it should be at UNC — ACC
• at Virginia — Apr 22 (Sat) — ACC
• at Duke — Apr 29 (Sat) — ACC