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Tucker Dordevic is entering the transfer portal, according to a post on his Instagram. Dordevic, who played attack this season but was previously a midfielder, is a two-time All-American. He led Syracuse in goals and points this year.

Dordevic’s announcement that he would be using his final year of eligibility elsewhere came a day after Syracuse’s season finale, an 18-11 loss to then-No. 6 Notre Dame.

“After much angst and contemplation, I’ve made the very difficult decision not to return for a sixth season at Syracuse University and I will formally be entering the transfer portal,” Dordevic wrote on Instagram.

In March, Dordevic announced he would be returning to Syracuse for his sixth season in 2023. In his statement on Monday, Dordevic said he had been “wrestling with this decision for quite some time” but chose to wait for the announcement until after SU’s season had concluded. He was one of four captains in 2022.

Dordevic has been a mainstay of the Syracuse offense for years. He was previously a member of the All-American midfield trio that featured Brendan Curry and Jamie Trimboli. Trimboli graduated in 2021 and Curry’s eligibility runs out this year. Now, Dordevic will depart too.

Dordevic arrived at Syracuse and started all 15 games as a true freshman, the most starts by an SU true freshman offensive player in a decade. He missed 271 days after two surgeries on his right foot and redshirted the 2019 season before reestablishing himself in 2020. By 2021, Dordevic was fourth on the team in points and goals.

The fifth-year player is from Portland, Oregon, a non-lacrosse hotbed, but still ascended to one of Syracuse’s best players. He’ll be one of the top prospects in the transfer portal this offseason.

This season, he scored an electrifying backwards, between-the-legs goal in Syracuse’s upset win over Duke. The play came in transition, and Dordevic capped it off by leaping and one-handing a shot through his legs and then between the Duke goalie’s legs and into the net.

“As I was reaching out for it, I realized I was in front of the goal and I kind of just shot it underhand between my legs,” Dordevic said. “I was just hoping it went in so I wouldn’t get in trouble.”

Dordevic scored a career-high six goals — and a career-high nine points — against Stony Brook this year too. Now, he’ll find a new destination after five years in Orange.

“This decision is very hard for me. Syracuse will always be my home,” Dordevic wrote in his statement. “Please know that I’ve absolutely loved every minute of my time as part of this amazing program.”

Published on May 2, 2022 at 10:46 am

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16