In the middle of the large orange “S” at the center of the Ernie Davis Legends Field stood Syracuse freshman Morgan Widner. She held her stick parallel to the ground, the head and net pressed against that of Binghamton’s Rebecca Golderman. The two faced each other as the referee adjusted their positions and placed the ball.

“For the draw,” the announcer said, the words echoing through the dome. Then the referee blew his whistle.

Widner flipped up her stick and the ball soared overhead. She pivoted, the stick perpendicular to the ground now and the ball fell, cradled, into stick. She tossed it to the closest open SU athlete and ran off the field. There, she waited for the next draw.

“We stepped up and executed,” SU head coach Gary Gait said.

Syracuse faced Binghamton at the X 22 times in the second game of Saturday’s double header. After pounding Canisius, 18-6, in the first game, the Orange (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) coasted to another blowout win, 16-5, over the Bearcats (0-2). The wins came so easy, in part, because Widner gave Syracuse such a volume of chances with 25 draw control wins between the two games.

Widner’s first draw control of the Binghamton game turned into a goal scored by Emily Hawryschuk within the next minute. Three more wins became quick Orange tallies. Over and over, the ball flew into the air and snapped it up.

Widner cycled on and off the field with each of Syracuse’s goals. Whistle. Celebration. Sticks. Flicks. Win draw. Run off. Score goals. Whistle.

“I think that working with my teammates, how great they are at boxing out on the circle, it gives me that open opportunity to get it myself,” Widner said.

In her first three games, Widner has controlled 41 draws, good for 13.7 per game. She’s been tasked with replacing perhaps Syracuse’s greatest ever, Kayla Treanor. The Niskayuna, New York native set a single-season record for draw controls (217). In Treanor’s first game ever on the draw, against Loyola, she set a single game school record for draw controls (19) and led the nation with 9.04 draws per game. It’s not an easy act at the X to follow.

But Widner can only play her game as she jogs on and off the field to dominate at her specialized position.

“We stepped up (and) executed on offense,” Widner said. “… We’re really playing some great lacrosse.”

Published on February 18, 2017 at 11:14 pm

Contact Kaci: klwasile@syr.edu