Strength up the middle is an old adage in sports, and lacrosse is no exception.
Success on face-offs and in goal means a team has a foundational backbone that runs straight up the field, starting at the back line and connecting all the way up to the offense. Any team that’s able to be great in both is positioning themselves nicely to compete with anyone.
That’s exactly the spot the Syracuse Orange find themselves in entering the 2026 season, as FOGO John Mullen and goalie Jimmy McCool return to stake
their claims among the best in the college game at their positions.
Mullen is coming off one of the best face-off seasons in SU history, setting the single-season records for FO wins and ground balls. He also led Division I in GBs per game (9.58) and secured a 63 percent success rate on his way to earning All-American recognition from multiple voting bodies.
McCool was a bit more up and down at times than Mullen, but he nonetheless demonstrated an ability to step up and make plays when his team needed him the most. His efforts earned him ACC Goalie of the Year with a 53.5 save percentage and a 10.49 goals-against average, all in his first season as a starter.
Their returns help fortify the Orange and puts them in the rare spot nationally of having big expectations for both positions. In Inside Lacrosse’s recently released preseason All-American selections, Syracuse was one of only two teams to have both their goalie and FO man make the list, alongside Georgetown.
Beyond just the physical tools they bring, Mullen and McCool’s presence alone provides their teammates with supreme confidence. The defenders feels good having Jimmy as their leader and last line of defense, while the offense can play loose knowing Mullen is there to simultaneously curb opponent runs and fuel Orange runs.
That’s not to say they don’t come with their concerns, just that those concerns may be less than for most teams.
The primary concern coming out of last year in these departments was on face-offs, specifically the restarts that weren’t taken by Mullen. With the new(ish) face-off rules about having to sit out the FO after a false start, the importance of backup FOGOs is huge, especially since you never know when you might need them.
While Mullen ranked sixth in all of Division I with his .630 win percentage, his backups combined to go only 22-of-66 on the season, a paltry .333 win rate. The good news is that Mullen took 87 percent of last year’s total SU face-offs (449-of-515). While the 13 percent taken by everyone else (66-of-515) is a relatively small number, you still can’t have your backups facing-off at such a low number like 33 percent.
Drew Angelo is back after an underwhelming freshman season in which he went 6-of-18, and he’s joined by newcomer John Olenik, a freshman out of Medfield, MA. Olenik could make an impact after an outstanding high school career in which he was a two-time All-American and won 81 percent of his restarts his senior year.
In goal, ‘Cuse still has Michael Ippoliti as a solid option backing up McCool. He didn’t play a ton last year (6 games, 56:19 playing time) and his numbers were nothing crazy (8 saves, .471 percent), but he proved himself capable, including in a big spot.
In the instant-classic NCAA Quarterfinal against Princeton, Ippoliti was forced into the game after McCool picked up a penalty. Michael came in cold, played four minutes, did not surrender a goal, made a save against the Tigers’ fifth-ranked man-up unit, and helped preserve the win to send the Orange back to the Final Four. That’s how you prove your worth to an entire fanbase.
We all know the expectations are sky high for Syracuse this year, and while this roster has tons of talent up and down the field, there are still a number of areas or position groups that have question marks on the eve of the season.
But that doesn’t appear to be the case at the dot or in between the pipes, and John Mullen and Jimmy McCool are among the strongest arguments in SU’s favor this season. Strength up the middle is ready to lead the charge in CNY this spring.
