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TOWSON, Md. — In its first national championship game appearance in seven years, No. 3 seed Syracuse fell to No. 4 seed Boston College, 16-10, on Sunday. The loss marks the third time the Orange have lost in the NCAA title game — and the eighth time SU has fallen short of its first championship win after making it to the Final Four.

Charlotte North torched Syracuse’s defense with six goals, setting a new NCAA single-season goals record with 102. The Orange were outscored by the Eagles 7-2 in the second half, and goalie Asa Goldstock made just four saves on 20 shots faced.

Here are three takeaways from SU’s six-goal loss to the Eagles:

Tyrrell sisters, Orange offense noticeably absent

Meaghan Tyrrell hadn’t been held without a goal since the Atlantic Coast Conference title game against North Carolina, when Syracuse lost 9-4. After recording eight points on five goals and three assists against Northwestern on Friday, Meaghan Tyrrell had 24 points in the NCAA Tournament. Emma Tyrrell, meanwhile, scored 11 goals in her last three games and notched five points against the Wildcats.

But against Boston College, both Tyrrells struggled. Meaghan Tyrrell earned as many yellow cards (1) as she did goals and took just four shots, while Emma Tyrrell received two yellow cards in two minutes, disqualifying her from the remaining 40 minutes of the game. Emma Tyrrell’s two penalties led to back-to-back goals from the Eagles, allowing them to retake the lead midway through the first half.

Emma Tyrrell’s disqualification led to freshman midfielder Jenny Markey seeing increased playing time for the remainder of the game. When head coach Gary Gait gave Emma Tyrrell her first start at attack against Boston College on April 24, he sacrificed a midfielder for additional offense. Emma Tyrrell delivered in that game, scoring a career-high six goals. But on Sunday, she scored just once.

The reason for Meaghan Tyrrell’s struggles was the man-to-man defense BC played throughout the game, which included double-teaming her when necessary. It led to Meaghan Tyrrell receiving minimal touches as Emma Ward, Emily Ehle and Sam Swart were forced to facilitate the offense. Syracuse fired just seven shots on goal in the second half, and the Orange turned over the ball eight times against the Eagles’ defense.

SU unable to contain Charlotte North

North entered Sunday’s game with 96 goals, just four away from tying the NCAA single-season goals record. She also went into the game ranked eighth nationally in draw controls, averaging 8.5 per game. In the three prior games this season against the Orange, North recorded 11 goals and two assists but was held pointless on April 24 in the Eagles’ 16-7 loss.

As in the three prior meetings between the two teams, the Eagles utilized attacks behind the goal while running their offense and ran the shot clock down to tire the Orange’s zone defense. BC was able to get out to an early 3-1 lead through two goals by North. On the first, with the shot clock inside 10 seconds, North cut right on defender Ella Simkins before firing a shot that bounced past Goldstock, putting the Eagles up 1-0.

On the ensuing possession after Sierra Cockerille’s goal gave Syracuse a 4-3 lead, SU opted to triple-team North twice, preventing her from finding any space inside the 8-meter. Courtney Weeks still earned a free position shot for Boston College, but it was saved by Goldstock’s stick.

In the second half, Syracuse was unable to pressure North, and she recorded three more scores. Gait said after the Northwestern game that the Orange would throw multiple schemes at North, but they were unable to contain her, even with tight defense. North had almost no space when she ripped a sidearm shot from the left side of the 8-meter arc that flew past Goldstock. The goal gave BC a 12-8 lead and was part of a 6-1 run to open the second half.

Asa Goldstock struggles against low shots

In the ACC semifinal matchup between SU and BC, Goldstock had an up-and-down game, allowing 17 goals and struggling against low shots. The Eagles continued shooting low on the goalie in the NCAA final, scoring six of their nine first-half goals on bouncers, some even going through Goldstock’s legs.

With just over five minutes to go in the first half, Boston College positioned attack Caitlynn Mossman behind the net — this time toward Goldstock’s left side — and Mossman found Belle Smith wide-open at the crease. Smith shot low, under Goldstock’s stick and into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead.

Whether BC’s attacks shot from inside the 8-meter or further out, its shots were always aimed low and typically bounced right in front of Goldstock. Because of this, Goldstock was forced to make saves from her knees or pull the ball out from the back of the net after Boston College recorded another score. In the first half, Goldstock made just two saves on 11 shots — an 18.2% save percentage.

Goldstock didn’t improve in the second half, allowing seven more scores on just two saves. During Boston College’s critical 6-1 run during the second half, Goldstock was even called for a foul while minding the net, giving Cara Urbank an empty net to shoot at on the ensuing free position opportunity. Urbank took advantage, giving the Eagles a six-goal lead and putting the game well out of reach for Goldstock and Syracuse.

Published on May 30, 2021 at 2:40 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_