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On Friday, No. 5 Syracuse survived a late upset against Fairfield in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later against Princeton, the Orange struggled early on. They trailed at the end of the first quarter, but Syracuse started to control the game in the second quarter and never let up. 

The Orange outscored the Tigers 12-5 in the final three quarters, and their defense excelled as the game went along. By the fourth quarter, Syracuse controlled the possessions, and the game in general, with ease.

Here are some observations from SU’s (15-5, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) 13-9 victory over Princeton (15-4, 7-0 Ivy League):

Gradual improvement

Syracuse has struggled to start strong and hold leads. In the first few games of 2022, the Orange were outscored in three straight fourth quarters, blowing multiple leads. This included giving up five straight goals in an overtime loss to then-No. 6 Northwestern. Later in the year against unranked opponents, SU struggled to start strong, not holding a lead against Pittsburgh, Louisville or Cornell. 

“I still don’t think that we’ve put together a full 60-minute game,” Emily Hawryschuk said earlier in the season.

Kari Buonanno opened the scoring for the Tigers, which they rode to a 3-0 run to begin the game. From the top of the eight-meter, Buonanno cut to the left side of the arc, found a lane and scored easily.

But similar to those games against the Panthers or Cardinals, the Orange came out strong in the second quarter, going on a 3-0 run of their own. On the woman-up, Natalie Smith faked a flip pass and then found a streaking Megan Carney, who scored her first of the afternoon. Meaghan Tyrrell scored on a sidewinding shot and Olivia Adamson tied the game on the free position with under eight minutes left in the half. Minutes later, Tyrrell gave SU its first lead on a low shot with Mary Murphy providing pressure.

The rest of the half became a back-and-forth affair, but the Orange had the lead. Olivia Adamson couldn’t find anyone on the pass, so she moved behind the net to the other side of the eight-meter, scoring her second goal of the afternoon to give SU a halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Syracuse pulled away with stronger play. Hawryschuk and Smith scored at the free position while Tyrrell and Adamson notched goals to add to the 4-0 run.

But the success mainly came on the defensive side. The Orange only allowed two goals in the quarter, with the backline applying much more pressure. McKenzie Blake leaped and had an open look, but the pressure from Hower and SU defenders forced an errant shot that went wide of the net to end the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, Syracuse was in complete control.

Turnover troubles early on

Following Syracuse’s upset loss to Virginia in the ACC quarterfinals, head coach Kayla Treanor cited turnovers as the biggest issue in the defeat. 

“We got to step up and be able to make plays when we have the ball offensively and we gave a couple away,” Treanor said after the Virginia game.

Against the Tigers, the Orange continued to turn the ball over in the first quarter. SU had eight turnovers in the first 15 minutes, including one from Carney that led to a Sophie Whiteway goal to make the score 2-0. Midfielder Jenny Markey was the biggest turnover culprit in the first half, though.

While Markey’s first-quarter turnovers didn’t lead to Princeton goals, her second-quarter turnovers did. Markey faced pressure down the left side and fired an errant pass to Carney, which gave possession back to Princeton. While the Tigers were facing a tight SU backline, a foul from Markey gave Buonanno a free-position attempt, which she scored with ease. 

But in the second half, SU only gave up one turnover as part of its later success. Hawryschuk lost control of the ball and goalie Sam Fish collected the ground ball, but that was Syracuse’s only blemish as the team’s passing improved throughout.  

Stronger performance from Hower

At the start of the fourth quarter against Fairfield, Treanor replaced Kimber Hower with graduate student Hannah van Middelem. The fifth-year goalie struggled, allowing five goals in 11 minutes and giving the Stags a way back into the game. Treanor was impressed by how van Middelem played in practice and “wanted to give her a chance.”

Treanor then gave the reigns back to Hower, who put on one of her better showings. In the span of 11 minutes, Hower made four saves to keep the Orange in the game. In the second quarter, Lillian Stout found some room to take a shot, but Hower blocked it. She then made another save on Kyla Sears, who fell to her knees avoiding pressure but still got a shot off. However, Hower stood pat, and the Tigers failed to convert. 

At the start of the fourth quarter, Hower made another stop that was converted to a goal in transition. Princeton’s Kate Mulham fired a bounce shot from the left side of the eight-meter which Hower netted easily, and the Orange cleared. Hower finished with 11 saves, a huge improvement from the prior two games. The quick transition led to Tyrrell finding space and scoring her fourth goal of the game.

Moderate success stopping free positions

Sarah Cooper and Tyrrell both admitted that free positions also cost the Orange a win against Virginia. But in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, there was some improvement. Syracuse allowed only two goals on the free position against Princeton. 

Markey attempted to send a cross-field pass to Tyrrell. But Marge Donovan made the steal and eventually drew a free position against Katie Goodale. Hower made a couple free position stops with her stick. The first occurred as Donovan charged toward the net in the first quarter, and the second was against Buonanno in the second quarter. 

There were some cracks in the third quarter, however, when Kyla Sears was obstructed by Sarah Cooper. Even with SU pressure coming from behind, Sears easily scored on the free position attempt, beating Hower who fell to one knee.

Published on May 15, 2022 at 2:48 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com