Women’s LAX finishes regular season with victory over Cornell
Women's LAX finishes regular season with victory over Cornell
The Syracuse women’s lacrosse game against the Cornell Big Red was the last one that would be played in the Carrier Dome this season, and the Orange finished with a 16-13 win. In the case of the team’s seniors, it was final time they would feel the Dome’s turf under their cleats while facing off against a visiting school.
So, the opening minutes of the Syracuse’s matchup with Cornell were, quite frankly, a bit scary. The Orange let up a goal less than a minute into the game. The defensive lapses continued as the visitors went up four goals to none. With each score, the Cornell fans cheered louder and louder, a reminder that Syracuse’s in-state rivals weren’t just there to cater to the Orange’s senior night; they wanted to come away with a win.
It certainly did not help that three of Syracuse’s first four shots connected with the goal post. Scoring even a single goal was an impossible feat.
Eventually, senior Natalie Wallon charged her way into the crease and was awarded a free position shot. Wallon took the opportunity to pass the ball over to Megan Carney, who found the back of the net for the Orange’s first goal of the night at the 20:24 mark in the first half.
Shortly after the team’s first goal, Emily Hawryschuk scored a magnificent goal that began with her blowing by a defender and then freezing Cornell’s goalkeeper with a faked shot before scoring a moment later.
At this point, it appeared the Orange were starting to play the way their fans had expected them to. The way that had gotten the team to a 13-3 record and a No. 5 national ranking. They were able to tie the score up at five goals with 11:07 remaining in the half but just could not take the lead. Cornell scored after a long drought from both teams, and the Orange were able answer a few minutes later but could not do any better than that.
When the second half rolled around, the Orange seemed to realize this was the last home game of the season, and that winning it would be an incredible feeling for the seniors. Fourty-four seconds into the half, Meaghan Tyrrell gave her team its first lead of the night. The Orange finally had some real momentum and had even extended its lead out to three goals.
But Cornell was not about to go away so easily. The Big Red actually retook the lead midway through the second half. However, there was too much fight left in Syracuse, especially on such an emotional day for the Orange’s five graduating players and the team as a whole.
“Senior day [is] a great opportunity to honor all the players that have given so much to the program and continue to lead this team,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said after the game.
Syracuse will say goodbye to Alexa Radziewicz, Nicole Levy, Wallon, Bri Stahrr and Julie Cross.
The Orange will head to Boston next week for the ACC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament at Boston College.