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In place of Syracuse attack Savannah Sweitzer — who was seen on the sideline in street clothes for the duration of SU’s contest against Notre Dame — Meghan Rode was thrust into a significant role.

Already having scored in the second quarter, the ball found Rode’s stick with 30 seconds left in the third with the game knotted at 11-11. After receiving a pass from Olivia Adamson along the right perimeter of the 12-meter, Rode split the defense and fired a shot over Lilly Callahan’s left shoulder.

The goal gave SU a 12-11 lead — its first advantage since the 7:00 mark of the first quarter.

Despite starting quickly with five goals in the first quarter, SU tallied just one goal in the second and trailed 10-6 at halftime. But across the second half, No. 7 Syracuse (2-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) outscored No. 2 Notre Dame (4-1, 0-1 ACC) 10-4, as six third-quarter goals — including Rode’s — led to a 16-14 upset victory on the road.

“We’ve been in this situation before,” said SU head coach Kayla Treanor postgame. “We were down in Northwestern. So, that’s why we play the schedule that we do. It was great preparation. That’s why we were able to make some adjustments today and were able to win a game when we were down.”

Syracuse went through it all in its first three performances of the 2024 season. Against then-No. 1 Northwestern, the Orange were down early and couldn’t climb back. Against then-No. 18 Army, they were up early and held a large lead down the stretch. And against then-No. 9 Maryland, they fell in overtime after a tight battle.

Ahead of its matchup with Notre Dame Saturday to open ACC play, Treanor said she hoped the team learned from its varied experiences.

“We’ve had a lot of different game experiences in only three games,” Treanor said during a media session Tuesday. “For us, we just want to use this as learning and growth and want to start to click as we go into our ACC schedule.”

Syracuse’s offense began on fire, fueled by Emma Ward’s facilitating. Ward assisted on the first two goals of the game, helping the Orange out to a 2-0 lead.

Though SU scored three goals in the first four minutes of play, its offense began to slow while the Fighting Irish went to work. Through the first quarter, the ND three-headed monster of Jackie Wolak, Kasey Choma and Madison Ahern rallied to spur a 4-0 run. Notre Dame’s offensive explosion gave it a 6-4 lead after Choma and Ahern scored two each while Wolak added one.

Unlike its game versus Maryland, SU stumbled in the second quarter. The Notre Dame defense entered the contest as a unit that forced 12.25 turnovers per game and allowed 5.5 goals per game. In the first quarter, Syracuse broke through, but in the second, ND matched its success from previous games.

SU was pushed out of the 12-meter often by Notre Dame, turning the ball over five times and not recording a shot on goal until Rode scored with under three minutes left in the quarter.

As Notre Dame’s offense continued to produce, its defense held SU down, limiting it to one goal on three shots on target. The Orange were stagnant in the offensive zone. Ward’s quick start soon fizzled out while its top scorers like Natalie Smith and Adamson were nowhere to be found. SU passed the ball around looking for the perfect shot, but it was never there. ND defender Olivia Dooley caused three turnovers in the first half, halting any chance SU had in the frame.

At the half, despite leading in draw controls 10-8, Syracuse trailed 19-9 in shots. The shot disparity, in large part because of its 10 first-half turnovers, allowed ND to enter the second half leading by four.

When SU needed an offensive answer to stay within striking distance, its two leading scorers stepped up. To open the second half, Adamson and Smith scored a combined three goals to cut the deficit. The duo totaled five goals in the third quarter.

“I think Olivia (Adamson) is just so consistent for us and Nat (Smith) today was specifically a big spark,” Treanor said.

Smith and Adamson have broken out in their junior and senior seasons, respectively. Each has tallied two or more points in each of their first four games. Against ND, Smith and Adamson led the way with a team-high four goals each.

In a pivotal moment in the third quarter, Ahern committed a slashing penalty to set up a player-up for Syracuse. The Orange circled the ball around the 12-meter for the duration of the shot clock. Finally, Adamson collected a ground ball in front of the crease and slipped it into the back of the net.

Following Adamson’s contribution, Smith collected the ball before midfield and flew down the right side. She then cut to her left and fired past Callahan to tie the game at 11-11. Rode finished the quarter with SU’s sixth goal of the frame with under 30 seconds left, giving Syracuse a 12-11 lead — its first since the first quarter.

Though ND broke SU’s 4-0 run early in the fourth quarter with Wolak’s fourth goal, Emma Muchnick and Maddy Baxter quickly answered to give SU a two-goal lead.

The highly-ranked Fighting Irish weren’t ready to go down easy. Wolak answered to cut the deficit back to two after a goal from Emma Tyrrell. But the Orange matched them once again on Adamson’s fourth goal.

With a three-goal lead and minutes to go, SU allowed a goal on a ND player-up chance. But Syracuse’s second-half surge was too much for ND to overcome, giving the Orange a signature victory early in the campaign.

“I think our schedule, we play all the top teams in the country and that’s why we do it,” Treanor said. “We can play a team like Notre Dame, and we’ll be prepared and we were ready.”

Published on February 24, 2024 at 3:15 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky