Ward’s hat trick not enough as SU drops home match to Northwestern
Ward’s hat trick not enough as SU drops home match to Northwestern
Emma Ward records her fourth hat trick of the season, but the Wildcats’ balanced attack and late scoring push seal the win.
Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse came up short against another top-three-ranked opponent in a 12-8 loss to Northwestern on Tuesday afternoon in the JMA Wireless Dome.
For the Orange, Emma Ward collected her fourth hat trick of the season and starting goalie Daniella Guyette achieved her fourth consecutive double-digit save game in the net. Northwestern had eight different players score, including Madison Taylor who led the team with five goals.
Tuesday’s game marked the 26th meeting between the two programs. The last time the teams went head-to-head was in 2024 for Northwestern’s season opener, which resulted in an 18-15 loss for Syracuse. In the all-time series, the Wildcats now lead Syracuse 19-7.
Northwestern’s offense came out strong with a fast goal by fifth-year attackman Niki Miles in the first minute of the game. A shooting space penalty against Syracuse then led to a free-position goal by first-year Hannah Rudolph.
The Wildcats continued to dominate the first quarter on both ends of the field. Back-to-back goals by sophomore attackmen Abby LoCascio and Alexis Ventresca within the same minute suddenly propelled Northwestern ahead by four. The defense kept the Orange’s offense to three shots with none on goal.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats kept their foot on the gas with a goal by Sam Smith to bring the score to 5-0. However, the Orange soon found their footing and fired back with goals by midfielders Emma Muchnick and Joley Caramelli, both assisted by Syracuse scoring leader Emma Ward.
Ward then cut through the defense from the top of the circle and notched a goal of her own to put the Orange right back in it—just two points shy of Northwestern’s lead heading into halftime. Both team’s goalies ended the first half with .500 save percentages and Syracuse took the upper hand on draw controls led by Meghan Rode.
Muchnick struck again in the third quarter to place Syracuse right at Northwestern’s heels, one point away from tying the game. The momentum quickly shifted to the Wildcats after a yellow card against Syracuse’s defense set up league scoring leader Madison Taylor for a free-position goal.
The Orange answered just minutes after as Ward slid out from behind the cage and fired one in the bottom corner for her second goal of the day. But multiple penalties on Syracuse’s defense resulted in three free position goals by Northwestern, two by Taylor and one by Riley Campbell. By the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats’ lead extended to four points over Syracuse.
Ward broke the scoring open in the fourth quarter with a hat trick goal on a free-position opportunity and first-year Annie Parker recorded her first goal of the season for Syracuse to cut the deficit by two. Aditi Foster then scored to maintain Northwestern’s multi-goal advantage.
Tensions rose as a Wildcat shot deflected by Guyette bounced around on the line of the goal. Once reviewed by the referees, it was ruled a no-goal and the score remained 10-7 with the clock winding down past the 10-minute mark.
Caroline Trinkaus made it a two-point game as she worked the left side of the circle and scored for the Orange with just under four minutes to go. However, after a Syracuse timeout and a decision to empty the net for extra offensive power, Taylor capitalized and tacked on two more goals—sealing the win for Northwestern.
In the postgame presser, Syracuse Head Coach Kayla Treanor said the team is still learning a lot and that these ranked matchups have been great tests for them.
“I think we improved from North Carolina to this game,” Treanor said. “Our goal is to be great at the end of the year and just continue to get better as the season goes on.”
This challenging stretch of games is not over yet as Syracuse will take on another ranked opponent, No. 14 Clemson, back in the Dome on Saturday at noon.