No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse beats No. 13 Stanford, 12-9, in season opener

The No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team defeated the No. 13 Stanford Cardinal in their season opener, 12-9, on Friday night.

The Orange returned for the new season after coming up short in the 2021 Division I Women’s Lacrosse National Championship, where they lost to fellow ACC opponent Boston College 16-10.

With the arrival of Kayla Treanor, the new head coach and former four-year SU player, and the return of senior Megan Carney and graduate student Emily Hawryschuk who both tore their ACL’s last season, fans are excited to see how far this Orange team can go.

In the first quarter, the Orange came out the gates aggressive, which led to freshman attacker Olivia Adamson scoring the first goal only 50 seconds into the game.

Defensively, the Orange kept Stanford on their toes, only allowing one shot over the next few minutes. Stanford’s early offensive struggle ended thanks to a goal from senior midfielder Caitlin Chicoski.

Stanford gained some momentum and forced a few turnovers while preventing Syracuse from taking open shots. A little over two minutes after delivering the assist for their first goal, Stanford’s Sarah Jaques came back and scored to put the Cardinal up 2-1.

The Orange looked a bit flustered as Stanford asserted early dominance, doing their best to keep up with the Cardinal and grab some momentum of their own. Only 88 seconds later, sophomore midfielder Ailish Kelly set up on the crease and shot a terrific behind-the-back goal. The highlight reel shot put the Cardinals up 3-1 within the first six minutes of the game.

The Orange quickly recovered, and Carney scored to bring the Orange within one. Junior midfielder Emma Tyrrell scored her first of two goals on the night to tie the game.

Offensively, SU’s senior attacker Meaghan Tyrrell started a dynamic performance, scoring three unanswered goals within a five-minute period to take the lead 6-5 – SU’s first lead since the beginning of the first quarter.

“We have confidence in our offense across the board,” Tyrrell said. “I think no matter who it was, just getting those goals in and having that transition definitely helped push our limit and keep us up.”

Stanford tied the score before the end of the half, 6-6, crediting Annabel Frist with her second goal of the quarter.

Syracuse’s dominant play shifted energy their way in the second half. Defensively, the Orange kept the Cardinal scoreless throughout the entire frame. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Kimber Hower kept the net safe and made five saves in the second half alone.

The Tyrrell sisters kept the Orange offense afloat, scoring their second and fourth goals of the night, respectively, to put the Orange ahead 8-6.

In the fourth, the Orange played in sync as Meaghan completed a dynamic six-goal night. SU’s Sierra Cockerille and Hawryschuk each added a goal to the Orange’s lead.

Stanford’s Frist and Kelly ended the game with hat-tricks individually, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Orange.

After the final horn, the home crowd chanted Treanor’s name in excitement over her first career win as Syracuse head coach.

“I’m just really proud of our girls for coming back and fighting hard in a really back and forth game,” Treanor said. ”6-6 at half and a great third and fourth quarter where they just finished the game, and we walked away with the win.”

SU looks to continue the early-season momentum Sunday at the Carrier Dome against the Binghamton Bearcats at 1 p.m.