Final Four Bound! Syracuse Tops James Madison in NCAA Quarterfinals

The Orange women's lacrosse team is headed to Cary.

Syracuse women’s lacrosse is headed to championship weekend in Cary, NC for the ninth time in program history. They beat the James Madison University Dukes 13-7 in the Dome in front of over 1,100 people Thursday afternoon.

This one was truly a battle of the defenses. James Madison boasts one of the best defensive units in the nation, and they showed out in the early stages of this game. Syracuse was held scoreless for the first 13 minutes of action.

Megan Carney gave credit to the JMU defense, but explained that her and her teammates were prepared to take them on.

“They’re a very great defense, well-coached,” Carney said. “But we had our own game plan going in. One of our goals was to try and get them to switch out of their zone, and we did that. We worked together on offense and put the ball in the back of the net.”

For the Orange, head coach Kayla Treanor said this was one of her defensive unit’s best games of the season.

“Our defense was outstanding today. Probably their best game of the year. I thought Tessa Queri on defense was unbelievable,” Treanor said. “Defense wins championships, and the defense came ready to play today.”

Queri, listed on the roster as a midfielder, was moved over to defense for this contest, something Treanor says was the idea of assistant coach Kenzie Kent. She also praised Caitlin Defliese Watkins, another assistant coach, for her masterful defensive coordination.

An emotional Isabella Peterson, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, broke down what made Syracuse’s defense so difficult to get around today following the loss.

“Their zone was really good. I think we did a good job in practice trying to imitate it and we found success in practice, but I think we struggled today on our execution,” Peterson said. “They’re really good at marking up cutters in the middle. We had some opportunities that we should’ve finished, but unfortunately, we were unable to.”

Offensively, the Orange got off to a slow start, but it was Olivia Adamson who saved the day. On top of her four goals and two assists, she secured nine draw controls against a much taller Isabella Peterson. Coach Treanor had high praise for the graduate transfer from Harvard.

“Olivia Adamson led us on the draw and on offense and really put the team on her back today when we were struggling early,” Treanor said. “We knew we were going to be able to get it done. Just so proud of them.”

JMU head coach Shelley Klaes also spoke about Syracuse’s high-power offense following the loss.

“We really honed in on Carney and Ward and [Meaghan] Tyrrell, and I thought we did a good job with them,” Klaes said. “But I think some auxiliary players stepped up for Syracuse today.”

As for the approach, Klaes detailed the challenges of defending against such a deep offensive roster, but expressed pride in her defense for rising to the occasion

“You’re just trying to break up play. You’re trying to change a muscle memory, a mechanic that might be something that they’re used to at this point,” Klaes said, adding that with fatigue, that was more difficult to do as the game went on. “That’s what good defenses do. We held this team to 30 shots and 13 goals. I don’t know how many teams have done that all season long.

Behind Adamson, Megan Carney recorded a hat trick, and both Emma Ward and Sierra Cockerille scored twice, with Ward adding two assists. Notably, Meaghan Tyrrell was held scoreless, tallying just two assists, and Emma Tyrrell scored once and assisted another goal. The two combined for 17 points against Johns Hopkins just last weekend.

Despite giving up 13 goals, Kat Buchanan kept her team in the game in net, per Klaes. The senior goalkeeper tallied nine saves.

Following the game, she spoke about defending against such a talented offense in net.

“Those girls have unbelievable shots. I’ll give it to them,” Buchanan said. “They’ll place it really well. They’ve got a lot of power behind it.”

She added that some of the outside saves she was able to make were made possible in part by her defense’s performance. Coach Klaes added that Buchanan has been outstanding all season, and that she’s exceeded any and all expectations as the starting netminder.

Delaney Sweitzer was a perfect .500, allowing seven goals and making seven saves. Notably, she did not commit a turnover. In the previous two games, she’s had trouble making longer passes on clear attempts, sometimes resulting in sloppy turnovers. Sweitzer cleaned it up today, limiting long passes on the clear and connecting with her targets often.

Next up for the Orange is the semifinals. They will take on Boston College who ended Syracuse's winning streak 17-16 on April 20th, their sole regular season loss.

A game time has yet to be announced, but the matchup will take place in Cary, NC on May 26. The national championship will take place on May 28, also in Cary.

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