Clemson Tigers Women’s Lacrosse Scores Huge Road Win over Syracuse

The Clemson Tigers women’s lacrosse team continues its rise in the ACC with a key road victory over the Syracuse Orange.

April 1, 2023, Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Allison Kwolek before the Pink Game on Senior Day against the Louisville Cardinals at Riggs Field. | Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images

This is just the third season for Clemson Tigers women’s lacrosse, but this may be the season the program is poised for a major breakthrough.

The Tigers remained undefeated with a tight 9-8 victory over the Syracuse Orange on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

The win was the second straight for the Tigers (5-0, 2-0 in ACC) in conference action and their second straight over a league team that was ranked higher than them going into the game. The Tigers were ranked No. 14 while Syracuse (3-3, 0-2 in ACC) was ranked No. 6.

Syracuse’s two previous losses were to No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Northwestern.

The victory came a week after the Tigers went to South Bend, Ind., and beat then No. 11 Notre Dame, 12-11, in the ACC opener for both teams. That was the highest ranked victory for Clemson in program history before Saturday. It was also the Tigers’ first win ever over the Fighting Irish.

The contest was one befitting a pair of teams ranked in the Top 15 in the country. Clemson took a 3-2 lead after the first period and held onto it, 5-3, going into halftime. The Orange cut into the lead but was still down, 6-5, going into the fourth period. The Tigers and Orange fought to a draw, 3-3, as the Tigers hung on for the victory.

Clemson players scored in bunches on Saturday, as four players finished with two goals — Natalie Shurtleff, Lindsey Marshall, Katie Castiello and Lexi Edmonds. Kayla Macleod scored the Tigers’ only other goal.

Shurtleff was coming off a hat trick against Notre Dame, while Marshall and Castiello had two goals each.

Shurtleff and Edmonds had the key goals for the Tigers. Syracuse tied the game, 7-7, with 7:34 left in the fourth period on a goal by Emma Ward, her 16th of the season. The Tigers answered with two goals inside of two minutes to regain the lead.

Shurtleff struck first, breaking the tie on an unassisted goal with 6:51 left. Then, with 5:59 left, Edmonds tacked on a goal after an assist from Bridget Babcock.

Clemson hung on from there. Caroline Trinkaus cut the lead to one goal for the Orange with 49 seconds left. Syracuse pulled its goalie but couldn’t score the equalizer.

Emily Lamparter did enough in goal for the Tigers, as she made six saves on 17 shots faced, 14 of where were on goal. The Clemson defense did its job in front of her. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ offense took 26 shots at Syracuse, with 17 on goal.

Clemson returns home to host Queens on Tuesday, followed by a return to ACC action next Saturday when it hosts Duke.