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In its regular season matchup with Virginia on March 23 Syracuse started stagnant, falling behind 5-1 in less than 10 minutes. SU clawed back in the fourth quarter to win 15-14 but it was far from a complete performance.
In the second rendition between the two sides in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals Friday, the Orange came out of the gates as hot as possible. An 8-0 first quarter and continued dominance in the opening minutes of the second had Syracuse well in front and started a running clock at the 9:31 mark of the second quarter, which continued throughout the rest of the game.
Riding its hot start and its largest halftime lead of the season (12), No. 1 seed Syracuse (14-4, 8-1 ACC) cruised to a 19-4 victory over No. 5 seed Virginia (14-4, 6 -3 ACC). Syracuse’s offense tallied 19 goals and its defense tied a season-best four goals allowed. With the win, SU advances to its first ACC Tournament championship since 2021 and the first under third-year head coach Kayla Treanor.
Using a significant advantage in the draw circle — Syracuse ranked eighth in the nation compared to Virginia’s 44th ranking according to Lacrosse Reference — Kate Mashewske won the first two, giving SU early possessions.
After working the ball around, Olivia Adamson forced a shooting position foul on UVA. Adamson elected to pass out but she quickly gained the ball back, scoring the first goal of the game. Thirteen seconds later she doubled the SU lead with a behind-the-back goal.
SU’s top attacks quickly got to work with Adamson. Virginia’s zone defense left Emma Ward alone at X, allowing her to free up her hands more than normal and use her elite facilitating skills. She first fed Emma Tyrrell who brushed past her defender and fired across her body to extend the lead to three. Ward then scored a goal of her own, forcing UVA head coach Sonia LaMonica to call a timeout at the 10:05 mark.
Mashewske broke down the Cavaliers’ draw unit throughout the quarter, forcing a change from freshman Kate Galica to Kiki Shaw then back to Galica later in the frame. It didn’t matter much as SU won the draw battle 7-2 in the frame.
The Orange kept their foot on the gas pedal throughout the opening frame as Natalie Smith added two goals in a 65-second span. Then secondary scorers like Emma Muchnick and Savannah Sweitzer each added goals.
Delaney Sweitzer and Syracuse’s defense had limited possession due to its draw dominance as the Orange closed the quarter with a shutout. It was their first time allowing zero goals in the opening frame since its matchup with Virginia Tech on March 9.
As LaMonica was interviewed after the frame by ACC Network, all she could was laugh, stunned at the performance against her squad.
Holding an 8-0 lead to start the second quarter, Syracuse looked well on its way to a dominant victory. Though as it has shown throughout the season with 14 games with 15 goals or more, they were far from over.
Virginia switched from its zone to a man-to-man defense, but the change didn’t do much as SU continued to pile it on.
UVA got on the board with a pass from Madison Alaimo to Morgan Schwab at the 13:42 mark of the second quarter. But SU responded with six straight goals. Joely Caramelli became Syracuse’s seventh goal scorer when she found a gap in the middle of Virginia’s defense.
Syracuse’s offense continued with Tyrrell scoring two goals in 13 seconds. The first caused the clock to turn into a running one, coming less than 21 minutes into the contest.
Mashewske’s draw dominance carried into the second frame causing another change for UVA’s revolving door of draw specialists. This time it was Lauren Pederson. But Mashewske controlled the circle regardless, winning 7-0 in the second quarter.
At the 7:15 mark, UVA took out starting goalie Mel Josephson for Abby Jansen. At the same time, LaMonica had enough of her team’s putrid draw performance. She called for a stick check on Mashewske to kill the momentum.
When Syracuse faced Lousiville in the regular season on March 30, U-of-L head coach Scott Teeter did the same. This time after her stick was approved, Mashewske gave a simple shrug to her Syracuse teammates. From the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the third quarter, Mashewske helped Syracuse win 12 straight draws.
Dominating possessions and swallowing up UVA’s attack limited the Cavaliers’ attack throughout the second quarter. Over the last 10:21 of the half, SU didn’t allow a shot.
Meanwhile, Ward and Baxter added goals to push the lead to 12 at the end of the half.
Virginia attempted to claw back with isolated goals in the second half but Syracuse continued to add on to its total. Four different players recorded hat tricks as the draw unit posted a 22-of-25 performance and the defense held UVA to four goals, leading to a smooth 15-goal win to ride into the conference championship.
Published on April 26, 2024 at 7:21 pm
Contact Aiden at: [email protected] | @AidenStepansky
