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When Syracuse suffered an 8-7 loss to Boston College in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, it marked the end of an era. Meaghan Tyrrell, the program’s all-time leader in points, and Megan Carney, SU’s leading scorer in 2023, graduated.

Throughout their time donning Orange, the Megs were program staples. In its first six games without them in 2024, Syracuse struggled to a 3-3 start — already matching its loss total from 2023.

But over the next nine games, SU’s new-look attack developed and couldn’t be stopped. Instead of relying on two players, the Orange spread the ball around to a litany of options. It resulted in a nine-game winning streak where SU scored 17.33 goals per game — 3.33 more per game than it scored across its first six games. The winning streak propelled Syracuse to its first outright ACC regular season title, earning it the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Coming off second-lowest scoring game of the season — an 11-10 loss to Boston College — the Orange got back in the win column doing what they do best: spreading the ball. In No. 1 seed Syracuse’s (13-4, 9-1 ACC) 17-8 win over No. 9 seed Louisville (8-11, 3-8 ACC) in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, a season-high nine SU players scored. The Orange will face either No. 4 North Carolina or No. 5 Virginia on Friday in the semifinals as they look to win their first ACC Tournament since 2015.

“That’s what makes our offense really strong, how many different goal scorers we do have,” Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor said postgame.

To start the game, Syracuse’s attack fired on all cylinders. After Kate Mashewske won the opening draw control, SU worked the ball around its attack. From X, Natalie Smith hit a cutting Emma Muchnick, who stormed through the lane before netting the game’s first goal.

Like clockwork, Mashewske won the next draw and the Orange swung the ball around Louisville’s defense. After facilitating the first score, Smith maneuvered her way near the crease and fired past Sara Addeche in the cage giving Syracuse a quick 2-0 lead.

But from there, the Orange showcased inconsistencies reminiscent of their 3-3 start. Mashewske lost three consecutive draw controls, kickstarting Louisville’s attack. After the Cardinals’ Madi McKee won her first draw control, Louisville stormed down the field, leading to a Kylea Dobson goal.

Despite forcing a turnover after the Cardinals’ second draw control win, SU failed to clear the ball, leading Dobson to tie the game 2-2 four minutes in. Louisville then extended its lead to 3-2 on a Rian Adkins goal after Emma Ward failed to capitalize on a 7-on-5 advantage at the other end of the field.

Though Mashewske lost the ensuing draw, Syracuse caused another turnover. This time, it capitalized. The Orange worked the ball around Louisville’s defense before resetting to Savannah Sweitzer near midfield. With the ball further from the cage, the Cardinals let Payton Rowley slip near the crease unmarked. Seeing this, Sweitzer fired a perfect pass and Rowley tied the game 3-3.

Then Mashewske — who won a game-high 15 draw controls — got hot in the circle, and so did SU’s offense.

Ward put Syracuse back in front by bullying defender Olivia Toll before rifling home her first goal at the 6:07 mark of the third quarter. Two and a half minutes later, Sweitzer extended SU’s lead to 5-3.

Then, Syracuse’s leading scorer Emma Tyrrell made it three straight. Following a Mashewske draw control win, Tyrrell stormed down the right side of the field, making easy work of her isolation opportunity.

Syracuse midfielder Savannah Sweitzer celebrates after scoring against Louisville in the 2024 ACC Women’s Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals. Courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Following another Mashewske win in the draw circle, the Orange got the ball back into Louisville’s defensive zone. This time, they slowed down before creating an isolation for Sweitzer, who scored a pair of goals versus Boston College. Darting from the right corner of the 12-meter, Sweitzer bulldozed her way in front of the crease before beating Addeche and extending the Orange’s lead to 7-3.

To close the opening quarter, Joely Caramelli, who was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman team Tuesday, became Syracuse’s seventh goal-scorer. After Delaney Sweitzer — who notched six saves — stood strong in the cage on a Louisville free position shot, SU got the ball to Tyrrell, who assisted the freshman.

While the Orange carried a dominant 8-3 lead into the second quarter, their offense struggled over the next 15 minutes. Midway through the quarter, Ward tallied her second goal giving SU a 9-4 lead, but it didn’t score again until late in the half. Ward, who notched four points, completed her hat trick 10 seconds before halftime, giving SU a 10-5 lead.

“Playing with people like Emma Tyrrell, Maddy Baxter and Savannah Sweitzer, they’re able to bring out the best in me and helped me make big plays,” Ward told ACC Network postgame.

Similar to its first meeting against Louisville, Syracuse dominated the second half. On March 30, the Orange outscored the Cardinals 13-5 in the final 30 minutes en route to a 22-12 win. In the ACC Tournament, SU outscored Louisville 7-3, kick-started by Olivia Adamson.

Two minutes into the third quarter Adamson, Syracuse’s leader in points throughout the regular season, scored on a man-up opportunity to become SU’s eighth goal-scorer — tying a season-high.

Kokoro Nakazawa, the ACC’s leading scorer, responded with a goal on the other end, but the Emma’s proceeded to make the play of the game. After the teams traded possession, Syracuse worked the ball to Ward at X.

As she traveled toward the 8-meter, the Cardinals double-teamed her. But once the defense collapsed, Ward swung a no-look pass to Tyrrell, who scored her second of a game-high four goals six minutes into the third quarter.

A minute later Adkins cut Louisville’s deficit to 12-7, but the Orange closed the quarter on a 3-0 run, taking a 15-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Smith tallied her second goal before Tyrrell corralled a hat trick. Then, Maddy Baxter became SU’s ninth goal scorer — a season-high mark.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Orange slowed the game down, closing out a dominant 17-8 win.

In postseason play since Treanor became its head coach in 2022, SU has consistently fallen short. Treanor’s first season saw the Orange lose in the quarterfinals while they dropped to North Carolina in the semifinals last year.

The difference between those teams and 2024’s is the strength of its offensive depth, which is well-equipped to end Syracuse’s nine-year ACC Tournament drought.

“We have a lot of trust within each other, being able to put the ball in everyone else’s stick and knowing that everyone’s a threat is just something that really works for us,” Tyrrell told ACC Network postgame.

Published on April 24, 2024 at 1:57 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon