Syracuse women’s lacrosse dominates first-season Pittsburgh 18-6
SU women's lacrosse dominates Pittsburgh 18-6
The No. 4 Syracuse Orange (10-2) kept their undefeated streak alive in the Carrier Dome after rolling through the Pittsburgh Panthers 18-6. The win moves them to 5-0 in-conference; and with top-ranked North Carolina on the horizon, those ACC wins are precious down the stretch.
The Orange opened the game with a bit of history. As graduate attacker Emily Hawryschuk found Meaghan Tyrrell cutting from X for the opening goal, Hawryschuk became just the fifth player in program history to reach 300 career points. Hawryschuk didn’t learn about the achievement until she was informed during the postgame press conference.
“When we were not playing well, Emily really stepped up and put the ball in the back of the net when we needed her to,” said Syracuse coach Kayla Treanor. “Defensively, we were making stops, we were getting some draw controls, but the offense wasn’t really in a flow yet. Emily is just a veteran leader and was able to step up and finish her opportunities early, which we really needed.”
The Panthers quickly clawed back to make this a ballgame early. Pittsburgh closed out the first quarter with a 4-2 lead, attacking with cutters in front of the net. Redshirt junior goalie Kimber Hower had some difficulty finding her rhythm at first, failing to save a single shot on goal in the first quarter. The Orange also failed to capitalize on the opportunities Pittsburgh presented to them, going 0-for-3 in the first quarter on free-position shots.
From there, the Orange ran away with the game. Syracuse dominated on all fronts, going on an 8-0 run that would not be answered until midway through the third quarter. That run expanded to 16-2 over three quarters, one of the best three-quarter stretches that Syracuse has put together this season.
Meaghan Tyrrell contributed to three of the eight goals on the run, assisting Emma Tyrrell on a goal and contributing two of her own. Meaghan finished the game with eight total points, tying her season-high scoring mark with six goals. The trio of Meaghan Tyrrell, Emily Hawryschuk and Emma Tyrrell each have at least 30 goals and 50 points each. As of this writing, no other team in Division I women’s lacrosse has more than two players with 50 points.
“Just having the opportunity to play on the field with Meg, with Emma, [and] with the rest of the offense,” Hawryschuk said. “We have seven amazing players out there. We get those opportunities based on the hard work that those girls put in.”
Syracuse had their foot on the gas in every aspect of the game following their early 4-2 deficit. Syracuse outshot Pittsburgh 41-21, won the ground ball war by a margin of five and finished on top in draw controls.
Eight different members of the Orange got in on the scoring action, including junior Katelyn Mashewske, who scored her first career goal this afternoon. On the opening draw of the second half, Mashewske won control to herself and drove the ball down the field.
Mashewske ran a quick give-and-go with defender Sarah Cooper and put one past the goalie to make it 8-4.
“I just came into the second half like ‘I gotta step up here,’” Mashewske said. “I have really awesome, supportive teammates around me. Coop[er] and Emma [Tyrrell] are awesome. I pushed Coop with me. It was awesome.”
The most surprising part? Syracuse actually left opportunities on the board. The Orange struggled with converting their free position shots, scoring just three goals on eight opportunities. Any time a team can win that dominantly while still leaving points on the board, it’s probably a good sign for where the team is headed.
The Orange will host No. 1 North Carolina this Saturday, April 9, at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
is a sports reporter for The NewsHouse, and a graduate student in the magazine, news & digital journalism program. Also, Clinton is a Football Outsiders staff writer and former Amherst Student reporter and editor.
is a photographer for The NewsHouse.
