Women’s LAX uses draw controls to dominate Harvard
Women's LAX uses draw controls to dominate Harvard
The Syracuse women’s lacrosse team grabbed an easy win Tuesday afternoon against Harvard, defeating the Crimson 15-6 in the Carrier Dome.
“That’s our fourth game in 10 days,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “I thought it was a solid effort by our team.”
The Orange started with four goals — one each from Emily Hawryschuk, Meghan Tyrrell, Mary Rahal and Sierra Cockerille — in the first 10 minutes of play until Harvard finally put two back to back goals on the board. Syracuse finished the last 16 minutes of the first half on a 6-1 run.
The second half followed a similar route: Syracuse scored four unanswered goals — including two more from Hawryschuk — until Harvard’s Grace Hulslander scored one and Keeley MacAfee scored two more for the Crimson.
With 1:09 left in regulation, Syracuse’s Rilea Fusco put an unassisted shot in the back of the net to give the Orange a 15-6 advantage over Harvard.
“I’ve been saying it all year that our defense has been outstanding, giving us multiple opportunities on the offensive end,” Gait said. “Overall, I’m pretty happy with the game.”
The Orange will take on Notre Dame this Saturday, March 23rd at noon, at Christian Brother’s Academy.
Syracuse was able to force 13 Harvard turnovers with a solid defense. The strict defense made it hard for the Crimson to shoot any shots, let alone score any. Syracuse dominated offensively, putting 22 shots on goal, while Harvard could only get 13 shots on goal.
Hawryshuck and Morgan Alexander led the Orange with four and three goals, respectively. Hawryschuk also set a new career-high after winning 10 draw controls. Overall, the Orange won 16-of-22 draw controls.
“I think it’s just going out there and having the mindset of beating the girl next to you,” Hawryschuk said of her draw control strategy. “I think Morgan Widner at halftime came up to me and said it was just a game where I was in a rhythm. It’s finding that rhythm and building off of that.”
Nicole Levy dished out four assists, matching her career-high against Loyola in 2016.
“That’s what we needed today, so whatever we needed I’ll just step up and do it,” Levy said. “I think everyone’s doing a really good job of being a threat in all aspects of the game, passer, shooter, feeder, whatever.”
The Orange play No. 12 Notre Dame at noon Saturday at Christian Brothers Academy.
is a 2019 magazine, newspaper and online journalism graduate and lead sports producer for The NewsHouse.
