Joey Spallina Ignoring the Noise After Reaction to Debut

Joey Spallina and the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team aren’t gripping their sticks too tight. Now 3-0 after a four-win 2022 season, the Orange are “just having a good time out there,” as Spallina said Wednesday.

The freshman was upbeat Wednesday. And why wouldn’t he be? It was sunny and 55 degrees in Syracuse in the middle of February. Spallina was continuing to settle in as the Orange’s new No. 22. Oh, and after a 1-for-15 shooting performance in his debut, he compiled 10 goals over his next two games on 14 shots.

Not a bad rebound.

“I thought that first game was awesome. Playing in the Dome, you can’t beat it,” Spallina said. “I don’t think I forced anything [against Vermont]. The way they played us, they didn’t really slide. When I was beating my guy, I was getting good shots. I just couldn’t really score that day.”

It should be noted, too, that Spallina played the entire second half with somebody else’s stick. He shot 0-for-8 in the first half with his own, but just after halftime, he broke it. It was a two-week old stick, so he didn’t think to bring a backup.

FIRST OF MANY.

Joey Spallina is officially an @NCAALAX goal scorer.

The celebrate years in the making for the @CuseMLAX . pic.twitter.com/hlx04vSdlJ

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 4, 2023

He was quick to say that’s not an excuse for his performance. But he was also quick to credit teammate John Cohen for his first goal after the redshirt-sophomore offered his stick without hesitation.

“We both play behind the goal, and I’ve thrown with his stick maybe twice before,” Spallina said. “It was a quick thing.”

The Twitter trolls were out in full force. After just 60 minutes of his college career, Spallina was already being labeled a bust. “Too much press for a kid who didn’t even play a game yet,” they said, in so many words.

It didn’t affect Spallina.

“I had some people tell me that Twitter’s kind of blowing up,” he said. “I don’t really care about that stuff or look into it that much. I was happy we won the game, which is all that matters. The scoresheet wasn’t great, but I thought our team played well.”

He was just focused on Albany, a team Syracuse went on to dominate 20-7. Spallina put all seven of his shots on cage, scoring five times. He didn’t turn the ball over once.

Doing a forensic investigation. Anybody who uttered the phrase “Joey Spallina is a bust” last week will be banned from watching lacrosse until further notice. pic.twitter.com/FlFpme1Rep

— Jordie (@jordiebarstool) February 10, 2023

In the days leading up to the game, he leaned on a couple of all-time greats. During his formative years, Spallina spent time around the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, a team his father, Joe Spallina, led to an MLL championship in 2015.

Rob Pannell and Paul Rabil were among the pros who reached out to tell him to ignore the noise.

“People are always going to hate,” Spallina said. “You just have to keep your head down and keep working.”

Still unranked in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, Syracuse can earn some serious respect this weekend by beating Maryland in College Park.