The Syracuse women’s lacrosse team just snuck their Christmas present under the tree on Tuesday when SU released their schedule for the 2026 season.
Regy Thorpe is back at his alma mater for his first season
as head coach, and he’s compiled a typically-difficult ‘Cuse schedule in his first year at the helm.
The Orange will be playing a 16-game schedule that features 10 ACC games, six non-conference clashes and an evenly split eight home and eight road games.
The overall difficulty of the schedule is on full display as SU plays 10 teams that reached last year’s NCAA Tournament, including five that made it to the quarterfinals and three that made it all the way to Championship Weekend.
The eight road games are the most the Orange have played in the regular season since 2018, while the month of March will be typically taxing in terms of sheer volume. ‘Cuse will play half their regular season in the year’s third month, taking the field eight times in a span of 29 days.
This is also another season in which the home schedule is front-heavy. Six of SU’s first nine games are in the Dome, but that is only the case for two of their final seven.
Let’s take a look at the 2026 Syracuse schedule:
- FEBRUARY 6 (FRI): HOME vs. MARYLAND
- FEBRUARY 13 (FRI): HOME vs. NORTH CAROLINA — ACC
- FEBRUARY 20 (FRI): Away at STANFORD — ACC
- FEBRUARY 24 (TUE): HOME vs. LOYOLA
- FEBRUARY 28 (SAT): Away at LOUISVILLE — ACC
- MARCH 3 (TUE): HOME vs. CALIFORNIA — ACC
- MARCH 6 (FRI): HOME vs. VIRGINIA TECH — ACC
- MARCH 12 (THU): Away at NORTHWESTERN
- MARCH 17 (TUE): HOME vs. YALE
- MARCH 21 (SAT): Away at VIRGINIA — ACC
- MARCH 24 (TUE): Away at UALBANY
- MARCH 28 (SAT): HOME vs. PITTSBURGH — ACC
- MARCH 31 (TUE): Away at CORNELL
- APRIL 4 (SAT): Away at DUKE — ACC
- APRIL 11 (SAT): HOME vs. NOTRE DAME — ACC
- APRIL 16 (THU): Away at BOSTON COLLEGE — ACC
- APRIL 22 (WED): ACC QUARTERFINALS
- APRIL 24 (FRI): ACC SEMIFINALS
- APRIL 26 (SUN): ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
One way or another, Thorpe’s tenure is going to start off with a bang, as ‘Cuse begins the season with back-to-back home games against Maryland and the defending national champions, North Carolina.
The difficult start doesn’t ease up too much from there as the Orange travel across the country to play Stanford before coming back home for a quick turnaround against Loyola, their fourth straight tournament team from last year to begin the season.
The following weekend, they’re back on the road to close February with a trip to Louisville before coming home to face Cal and Virginia Tech. Those three games will be played in a seven-day span as SU starts their hectic March with a busy first week.
After that, the schedule ramps back up for a trio of games, beginning with a trip to Northwestern on March 12. From there, ‘Cuse will return home to face a Yale team that beat them twice last year on March 17, and finally a trip down to Charlottesville to face Virginia on March 21.
The difficulty will briefly ease up a bit after that stretch with a trip to UAlbany, a home date with Pitt and a bus ride to Cornell. Those teams may not be as high in quality, but it’s another stretch of games in short order, this time three in eight days to close out the exhaustive month.
April will see a little more rest time as the regular season winds down, but the opposition ramps back up. The Orange will go to Duke, come home for their final home date with Notre Dame, and a trip to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College on April 16 ahead of the ACC Tournament the following week.
It’s going to be a busy and intense spring for Regy Thorpe and his team as they look to improve on last year’s 10-9 record and NCAA Second Round elimination. And now, the countdown to February 6 is on!
