Syracuse Women's Lacrosse Tops #11 Virginia to Remain Undefeated
In their seventh matchup against a ranked opponent this season, Syracuse proved yet again why they are the nation’s top team. The Orange cruised past the #11 Virginia Cavaliers 21-9 on Sunday evening in the Dome in front of the second largest single-game crowd in program history; 2,414 fans showed up to watch Syracuse dominate a tough ACC foe.
After an even first period of play, the Orange offense exploded. Five members of the Syracuse squad scored at least twice, with three recording hat tricks. Leading them all was Emma Ward, who set a career high against the Cavaliers with 10 total points. She scored four goals and assisted on six more.
“I think this game, I was doing a little bit more shooting than I was passing at first,” Ward said of what allowed her to be so successful against the Cavaliers. “I think I’ve done a lot of assisting this season, so being able to come out and still show that I can put the ball in the back of the net was nice.”
Ward has amassed 45 assists this season. The Syracuse single-season record is held by Katie Rowan, who dished out 69 assists in the 2008 season. While a difficult task, it’s not out of the question that Emma Ward could break Rowan’s record this season.
Another outstanding individual performance came from none other than Meaghan Tyrrell. The graduate attack scored an astounding six goals and assisted on three more for a total of nine points.
Tyrrell praised her teammates around her, especially Emma Ward, who she says is uniquely talented in seeing the field.
“I think Emma Ward has one of the best visions in front or behind the cage that I’ve seen in a very long time,” Tyrrell said. “She makes cutting through the eight and working with her so easy. It’s just awesome to have her back out on the field.”
Behind Ward and Tyrrell, it was Megan Carney. After not playing against Cornell just a few days prior, Carney scored four goals against the Cavs. Carney did not appear at post-game media availability, but Emma Ward spoke about her connection with Carney and how dynamic she is on the field.
“Meg’s just a great cutter and she makes my life really easy,” Ward said. “I think we’ve gotten the timing down of when she should be flashing, when she should be holding. With time and tenure, you’re able to make those connections and we’re doing a really good job finding each other.”
Defensively, Syracuse clamped down after the first 15 minutes of action. It was a relatively even first quarter, ending with Syracuse on top 5-4. After that, as the final score shows, the Cavs would only muster up five more goals in the final 45 minutes of play.
“The defense is bought in and they’re learning and they’re able to make adjustments,” Head Coach Kayla Treanor said of her defense’s play after the tight first quarter. “They were awesome tonight and were able to adjust, which is critical for us.”
For the Cavaliers, Ashlyn McGovern led the way, scoring three goals to get up to an impressive 44 on the season. Rachel Clark was the only other Virginia player to record multiple goals, scoring twice.
The star of the show for UVA, though, was Morgan Schwab. With a goal and five assists, she led the team in points with six, playing the facilitator role very well against a suffocating, physical ‘Cuse defense.
With the win, the Orange stay perfect at 13-0, continuing their best performance in program history. Additionally, Meaghan Tyrrell continues to creep closer to Coach Treanor on Syracuse’s all-time points list. At 383, she is just 10 shy of Treanor’s second-place total of 393 and 13 shy of Katie Rowan’s all-time record of 396.
Tyrrell also sits at fourth all time in goals with 239; she needs 11 more to overtake Christina Dove’s 250 in third place and 33 more to break Emily Hawryschuk’s record of 272. On the assists leaderboard, she’s even closer. She needs just 20 more assists to break Katie Rowan’s record of 164 career assists.
Next up for Syracuse is yet another ranked ACC foe. The Orange will take on the #22 Clemson Tigers on April 8. The game will be played at Cicero-North Syracuse High School at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
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