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After Northwestern defeated Syracuse 15-4 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Kayla Treanor’s first season at the helm, SU began its 2023 season with a rematch against the then-No. 4 Wildcats at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange pulled out a 16-15 win, kickstarting 15 straight wins to start the regular season.

With Syracuse leading 15-14 in the final minute, Meaghan Tyrell put the game away, scoring the eventual difference maker as SU went on to win 16-15. The win started a legendary run for the Orange, where they won 15 straight games to start the regular season. But in its finale against Boston College, their perfect season came to a close, faltering in the final minutes to a 17-16 loss.

The Orange were the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the semi-final, but No. 3 Boston College again got the better of them, winning 8-7 to advance to the championship game against No. 1 Northwestern. The Wildcats thwarted the Eagles, winning 18-6 to win their eighth national championship.

To open the 2024 campaign, Syracuse again faced Northwestern, this time traveling to Evanston. But with the departures of Tyrell, Megan Carney and Sierra Cockerille, it was a new-look Orange team looking to make a statement against Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 team. Despite a fourth-quarter surge where it at one point trimmed NU’s lead down to 15-14, Syracuse fell to the Wildcats after they dominated the final minutes of the game.

Here are some observations from No. 5 Syracuse’s (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 18-15 opening game loss to No. 1 Northwestern (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten):

Draw control struggles in Kate Mashewske’s return

One season after being named an Inside Lacrosse Second Team All-American, Kate Mashewske played just seven games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury. The graduate student returned to the field for the first time since March 11 assuming the role as the Orange’s draw control specialist.

Throughout her career, she has thrived in the draw control, totaling the second-most in SU history. But against the Wildcats, Mashewske struggled mightily. Sammy White won the opening draw and 22 seconds later Madison Taylor put NU on the board. Four minutes later, after splitting the next two draws, Mashewske faced a new opponent, Samantha Smith. Up against a fresh face, Mashewske again lost. Northwestern quickly moved down the field and Erin Coykendall scored the first of her four goals.

Facing a combination of Northwestern draw control specialists, Mashewske lost the draw control 8-3 in the first period. To begin the second quarter, SU moved Olivia Adamson, who filled Mashewske’s role in 2023 after her injury, to the circle. The Wildcats proceeded to win four of the next five draws, and Mashewske returned to the circle at the 8:30 mark of the period. In her return, Mashewske won the draw control which propelled Adamson to score her first goal, bringing Northwestern’s lead down to 10-6.

SU’s draw control was better in the second half, as Mashewske handled all of the attempts, going 8-of-the-18, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the first half disparity.

Northwestern’s fast start

Facing the No.1 team on the road is always difficult. But what makes it even more of an uphill battle is when that team sets the tone early. In the blink of an eye, the Wildcats opened the scoring on a fast break strike by Taylor 22 seconds into the game. On SU’s first offensive possession, Adamson coughed up the ball. Off the turnover, Northwestern pushed the ball down the field and easily scored.

At the 6:30 mark, Syracuse kept Northwestern’s lead to two after scoring its second goal, but NU’s offense took over from there. Over the next two minutes, Lindsey Frank scored after a draw-control win from White and Taylor scored a free position goal after a foul from Katie Goodale. This gave the Wildcats a 6-2 lead, but they kept their foot on the gas.

In the final minute of the first period, Northwestern tacked on two more goals. A save from Molly Laliberty and a groundball pickup from Carleigh Mahoney resulted in a Dylan Amonte goal. The Orange then lost another draw control and with eight seconds remaining in the period, Coykendall gave NU a 9-3 lead. Against the Orange last year, Northwestern scored four goals in the first half. On Saturday, it doubled that total in the first quarter.

Emmas held in check

With a new-look team without Carney and Tyrrell, the Orange need their Emmas — Emma Ward and Emma Tyrrell to step up offensively. Between the Megs, they registered 173 points in 2023 while the Emmas notched 162.

The Emmas were held in check by Northwestern’s defense, though. After being silenced in the first, the Emmas connected for a great goal six minutes into the second period. With a player-up advantage, Ward controlled the ball in the X before flicking the ball over the goal to Tyrrell who scored her first goal of the season.

But besides that great connection, both players were nearly non-existent. After NU scored a man-down goal to give it a 14-9 lead in the third period, Tyrrell tried answering back but she was called for a charge. With under four minutes in the third, Ward controlled the ball on a player-up opportunity but lost control and turned it over. NU responded by going coast-to-coast and scoring despite its disadvantage.

Ward turned up in the fourth, scoring two critical goals from the X to bring the Orange within one, but with SU trailing 16-14, she misfired a pass from the X that led to a Northwestern fastbreak — though Delaney Sweitzer made an incredible save to keep the score within two. Ward finished with two goals and three assists while Tyrrell only notched one goal.

Comeback falls short

When the Orange trailed 9-3 after the first quarter, the game seemed out of reach. Though Syracuse looked significantly better in the second and third quarters, it was only able to make up one goal as it trailed 15-10 entering the final frame.

But the fourth quarter is where Syracuse shined. Adamson scored back-to-back highlight reel goals en route to a career-high six goals. Although Mashewske lost the ensuing draw control, Smith turned the ball over then Coykendall gave SU a player-up advantage. Ward then went to work, scoring her first of two straight goals from the X.

The Orange began the period on a 4-0 run, but Northwestern responded with a 3-0 run to close the game. Following a draw-control win after Ward’s second goal, NU slickly moved the ball around before Frank found herself open near the crease. Then the dagger came when Izzy Scane, who was held relatively quiet, powered in her third goal of the game out of a great timeout play.

Published on February 10, 2024 at 4:04 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon