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Syracuse assistant coach Dave Pietramala is joining North Carolina’s staff, according to Inside Lacrosse. Chris Jastrzembski first reported the news via Twitter Saturday.

Pietramala was head coach Gary Gait’s first hire after he took over the program in June 2021. He left John Hopkins after 20 seasons, where he led the Blue Jays to national championships in 2005 and 2007. He also won the national championship with JHU as a player in 1987, regarded as one of the best defensive players of all-time.

“Pietramala taught us to learn from a little adversity,” Jesse Schwartzman, former John Hopkins goalie, told The Daily Orange in 2022. “He epitomizes Hopkins lacrosse just from the style of play, the intensity of his coaching. You can’t talk about Hopkins lacrosse without mentioning Pietramala.”

Before Pietramala was hired at SU, the Orange had one of their worst defensive seasons, allowing only 14.8 goals per game. Their worst defensive performance in 2021 came in a 22-8 loss against then-No. 4 Notre Dame. SU’s man-down defense faltered as the Orange ranked 60th in the country with a 50.9% success rate.

Pietramala’s addition didn’t magically transform Syracuse’s defense. The Orange could stop a team’s best option but never succeeded in containing secondary scorers. Notre Dame’s Jake Taylor was the best example. He recorded a program-record eight goals versus SU after scoring just thrice in his career.

The defensive issues in 2022 were also due to inconsistent goalkeeping as Pietramala went back and forth between Bobby Gavin and Harrison Thompson. Gavin finished with the second-worst save percentage (42.2%) nationally. SU allowed an average of 17.5 goals per game after defeating Duke in its final win of the year.

This past season, Syracuse found a steady goalie in Will Mark, who finished with the 11th-best save percentage in the NCAA. But Mark could only do so much as the defensive issues still persisted throughout the year.

SU was at its best against weak, nonconference opponents, but it allowed the most goals out of any ACC team in conference play. Overall, its scoring defense finished 44th nationally. It ranked 59th in ground balls per game.

UNC defeated the Orange early in the season before Syracuse came out on top 15-14 on April 15. Pietramala’s sons, Nick and Dominic, are heading into their second seasons this upcoming year with the Tar Heels.

Published on July 9, 2023 at 1:56 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu