Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Dave Pietramala leaving coaching staff for North Carolina

Syracuse Orange defensive coordinator Dave Pietramala is reportedly leaving the Orange coaching staff to take the same position on Joe Breschi’s staff at North Carolina.

Former TNIAAM contributor Chris Jastrzembski was the first to report it on Saturday, and multiple sources have since confirmed the news to Inside Lacrosse.

Pietramala spent the past two seasons as ‘Cuse’s defensive coordinator, which was his first job after his 20-year run as the head coach of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays came to an end.

During his time in Orange, his defense often drew the ire of fans, although improvements were made between year one and two. According to Inside Lacrosse’s rankings, SU ranked No. 20 this past year in adjusted defensive efficiency after finishing No. 52 back in 2022. Part of that was the impact of Will Mark in goal, although it should not be forgotten just how much defense Pietramala’s unit actually had to play this past season due to the severe lack of face-off success.

Pietramala now moves on to the program that is already the home of his twin sons, Dom and Nick, who will be entering their second season in Chapel Hill. Nick is a defender who appeared in two games as a freshman. Dom missed the season due to an injury suffered in the fall, but was the No. 3 overall ranked recruit in last year’s freshman class.

The Orange players were informed of the change on Saturday, and star freshman Joey Spallina posted to Twitter yesterday to give his thanks to “Coach P”:

And Petro responded with his own ‘thank you’.

For Gary Gait and the Orange, the focus is now on finding a new defensive coordinator to come in and take over for a defense that has a strong mix of players returning as well as coming in via the transfer portal and the incoming freshman class.

Stay tuned as we wait for Petro’s replacement.