Syracuse Women's Lacrosse Defeats Notre Dame 15-12
***Full Press Conference in the video above***
In what ended up being an absolute thriller in the Dome, Cuse downed Notre Dame today in an 18-14 win. Syracuse was coming off of an 18-14 win against the Fighting Irish on Thursday. Even though the outcome was the same, the route to get there was quite different.
How it Happened:
Notre Dame struck first today when Madison Ahern scored off of a free position shot. Syracuse Sophomore midfielder/attacker Bianca Chevarie answered and tied it at 1. Notre Dame found another 2 goals off of Madison Ahern followed but Sam Lynch, and Carney then found the back of the net off of an assist by who else- Meaghan Tyrrell. ND led 3-2.
It was at this point that things really took off for the Fighting Irish. Their offense was hot and Syracuse couldn't seem to slow them down. Notre Dame went on a run and found themselves up by 5 with 3 minutes left in the first half. But Syracuse did what championship teams do-they fought back. They found the last 2 goals of the first half to cut the deficit to three.
We'll never be sure what Coach Gait said to his girls during halftime, but we do know that whatever he said, worked. Syracuse became a different team in the second half, the team we are all used to seeing. Including the first 2 goals from the first half, Syracuse went on an 8 goal run and led 10-7. Maddie Howe finally stopped the bleeding with a goal of her own to make it 10-8. The rest of the second half went back and forth but Syracuse ultimately took over, taking down Notre Dame 15-12.
Team Leaders
Megan Carney: 4G, 1A
Meaghan Tyrrell: 3G, 3A
Sierra Cockerille: 4A
Kate Mashewske: 13DC
Key Takeaways
1) Draw Controls were huge today. Syracuse had 22 draw controls to Notre Dame's 7. That was the biggest difference maker. 13 of those DC were thanks to sophomore midfielder Kate Mashewske. We knew that with Hawryschuk out for the season, someone needed to step up on the draw circle. Mashewske is someone we can count on and feel confident about to fill that role.
2) Syracuse is a championship team because they have a championship mindset, Cuse ended the half today with only 4 goals scored, the lowest any team has held them to in one half all season. That being said, they came out of the locker room with fire and a new sense of purpose. They never lost their composure, and they certainly never gave up. Sure, it stinks to go down by a couple, but today the Orange proved an important lesson to themselves: they can come back when they're down. Who knows when this lesson could come in handy later in the season.
3) Turnovers in transition have to be cleaned up. Syracuse had 14 caused turnovers today compared to Notre Dame's 9. That's 14 missed opportunities. Turnovers are going to happen in every game-it's inevitable. But the more Syracuse can limit their turnovers, the better off they'll be. Plus, a win is a win. We'll take the good with the bad.