Monumental day for Syracuse lacrosse ends in dramatic women’s victory over Stony Brook
Syracuse outlasts Stony Brook to cap off illustrious day in 'Cuse lax
It was a matchup lacrosse fans across the entire state spent the week anticipating — and it still exceeded the billing.
No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse won a heart-stopping contest against No. 4 Stony Brook on Sunday night, withstanding a last-minute, woman-up scoring attempt to hold onto a 12-11 margin. A loose ball forced by sophomore midfielder Natalie Smith and controlled by grad student midfielder Tessa Queri proved to be the moment that sealed the deal for the Orange.
“It definitely wasn’t perfect, but a great win for the girls today,” head coach Kayla Treanor said. “We did what we had to do to walk out with the win.”
The Orange led by three goals twice in the contest, including a 12-9 lead at the start of the final period. Goals from Stony Brook’s Siobhan Rafferty and Kyla Zapolski whittled away the margin as Syracuse failed to score in the final fifteen minutes, but the defense held just long enough to ensure the victory.
“Our defense played amazing today,” senior attacker Megan Carney said. “They really kept us in that game… those last few minutes [were] good for us to solidify that win.”
Senior attacker Meaghan Tyrrell led the Orange in scoring for the third game in three tries, totaling four goals on the afternoon. Her partner-in-crime on the attack, Carney, scored three of her own, and added a game-high four assists, displaying an uncanny field awareness throughout the contest.
Grad student attacker Emily Hawryschuck scored two goals and added an assist to Carney, but her contributions went beyond the offensive end. Midway through the third quarter, she began taking draws, winning two of three and setting up her teammates both times for the goals that both tied the game and earned the lead back for the Orange.
“I had to go out and shift away from the offensive mindset,” Hawryschuck said. “I was just like, ‘That’s my job now.’”
Sunday’s showdown in the Carrier Dome was the second-highest combined ranking between two teams that have met so far in the young NCAA lacrosse season, behind No. 1 Boston College against then-No. 4 Northwestern.
Situational Excellence
The Orange scored two goals in the final minute of the first quarter, and another to end the third, all of which combined to provide the margin of victory.
Junior midfielder Emma Tyrrell was heavily involved in all three of the scoring plays: assisting sister Meaghan on the first of the second quarter goals, scoring the second with just two seconds left and assisting freshman attacker Olivia Adamson with just 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“We’re going to try to push it with time on the clock,” Treanor said. “We wanted to be really aggressive in this game, so those are big moments.”
Adamson notched another goal earlier in the third quarter, making it back-to-back multi-goal outings for the freshman phenom.
“She doesn’t play like a freshman,” Carney said. “It’s very helpful for us when we need that relief to know she can come in and put the ball in the back of the net.”
A historic afternoon at the Dome
Yes, this game had massive implications for being so early in the 2022 season, but the festivities beforehand carried the weight of the 24 lacrosse seasons that came before it. Program legend and all-time points leader Katie Rowan Thomson, had her number 21 raised to the rafters. She is the first women’s lacrosse player and just the second female athlete to have her number retired by Syracuse Athletics.
“The Carrier Dome brings back so many memories,” Rowan Thomson said. “It’s really a privilege to be represented as a female student-athlete, and I hope to inspire future [women] to keep pushing.”
On an afternoon where former women’s, and now men’s lacrosse coach Gary Gait had his jersey retired as well, and legendary coach Roy Simmons Jr. was added to the Carrier Dome Ring of Honor, the Orange’s victory added to what was already a memorable day.
“It’s a unique one — when you lose a head coach, typically they go somewhere else,” Hawryschuck said. “I know that I was super honored to play for [Gary] the last five years, and I think the shift has been great having Kayla.”
And as for which women’s lacrosse player might have her number added to the rafters next? Rowan couldn’t pick just one, but she heavily endorsed the team’s new head coach.
“Kayla absolutely deserves it,” Rowan said. “I can’t wait for the day that she’s up there.”
Up next
The Orange will face their first road test of the season and their first ACC showdown, as they travel to South Bend on Saturday to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame ranked fifth in the Inside Lacrosse poll to open the season, but now sit at just 1-2. No. 11 Michigan took down the Irish on their home field on Feb. 13, then Vanderbilt did the same in Nashville on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a gauntlet of a week for Notre Dame, who face off with No. 5 Northwestern on Wednesday before the Orange come to town. The opening draw of Saturday night’s game is set for 6 p.m.
is an aspiring baseball and football analyst and contributor for The NewsHouse with a knack for pointing out the funniest thing that happened on the field.
is a graduate student in the magazine, news, and digital news program, and contributor for The NewsHouse.
