Tyrrell and the Orange top Yale for spot at Championship Weekend
Orange top Yale for spot at Championship Weekend
Syracuse beat Yale 19-9 to reach the National Tournament semifinals behind Emma Tyrrell’s seven-goal performance.
Emma Tyrrell had herself a day.
The No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team defeated No. 6 Yale 19-9 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA National Tournament on Thursday. Graduate midfielder Emma Tyrrell walked out of JMA Wireless Dome the hero for Syracuse after a season-best seven-goal performance.
The win sends Syracuse to North Carolina for Championship Weekend.
The Orange got out to a quick lead. Yale’s defense limited the home side from getting clean looks at the net by marking potential shooters and limiting passing lanes. Senior attack Emma Ward received the ball behind the goalie and, with defenders focusing on shooters rather than her, circled the goal and scored.
Junior attack Olivia Adamson and Tyrrell scored on back-to-back free position shots as part of a five-goal first quarter and Syracuse never looked back. For the second straight game, the visitors couldn’t cut the Orange’s early lead.
Tyrrell led Syracuse with nine points. The graduate student also came through for the team whenever they needed someone to score. She had a hat trick in the first half as Syracuse ran up the score and scored two more in the third quarter to stop a Bulldog run.
“Emma (Tyrell) makes my job really easy. She catches and finishes the ball unlike anyone I’ve ever played with,” Ward said of her teammate’s game. “Having that chemistry the past four years has been amazing.”
Ward added three goals and a season-high four assists, Adamson a hat trick and senior midfielder Natalie Smith finished with four points, three of them back-to-back.
With Syracuse up 4-0 in the first quarter, Yale elevated its play. The Bulldogs limited Orange looks at goal and forced them to make uncomfortable plays, three of them resulting in turnovers. The visitors also found better shots at goal, hitting the sidebars multiple times and scoring once.
Still, the Orange responded in the second quarter. Smith and Tyrrell combined for three straight goals to open the period, before Adamson scored her second of the night to erase a Bulldog goal.
Even as Yale continued pressuring on defense, Syracuse found answers time-after-time.
Smith’s first goal of the quarter was an unassisted drive from behind the goal after the Bulldogs closed off passing lanes. Both Tyrrell and Adamson found shots at goal by constantly cutting until they found a crack in Yale’s defenders.
Still, the Bulldogs would not quit. Yale’s Karina Herrera and Taylor Everson scored back-to-back to close the first half, keeping Syracuse to just a five-goal lead.
Even as Yale continued trying to cut into the lead, Syracuse would not let up.
The visitors scored two in a row in the third quarter and looked to take over momentum, when Tyrrell came back with two goals of her own to double the visitors’ score 12-6.
The Bulldogs fought until the end, but Tyrrell and the Orange could not be stopped. Syracuse overwhelmed the visitors in the fourth quarter and closed on a six-goal rally.
Syracuse finally celebrated their win and trophy on the field.
The Orange next take on No. 2 Boston College next Friday at Cary, North Carolina. BC is the only team to beat Syracuse twice this season, once in the regular season to snap a nine-game win streak, and again in the ACC Tournament Finals.
“We’re ready to play anybody,” Ward said. “You want to win the National Championship, you got to play everybody; beat everybody. So, whoever we get to play, we’re excited to play.”
Opening draw is yet to be determined.
