Nicole Levy sprinted down the field and into space, creating a 2-on-1 with her teammate Kayla Treanor against Loyola goalie Molly Wolf. Levy kept the ball as she neared the net, but as Wolf took a small step toward her, Levy dished to Treanor.

Treanor dodged a defender, ripped her stick from right to left and, with Wolf in front and the same defender on her back, added on to a Syracuse lead it would never relinquish.

The Orange hadn’t led, even trailing at points, in the first five minutes, but Treanor’s goal made it 5-2 and SU never looked back. No. 3 Syracuse (1-0) kept adding to its cushion against No. 12 Loyola (0-2), going on to win its season-opener, 17-6, Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. It’s the second time in as many years SU has won the first game of its opening weekend double-header.

SU dominated offensively, finishing with more goals than Loyola had shots (14). Syracuse averaged 12.7 goals per game in 2015 and nearly equaled that output in the first half alone heading to the break with an 11-3 advantage. The bulk of SU’s offensive chances early came on backdoor cuts in front of the net, pick-and-rolls or on free-position shots earned by drawing fouls.

But that wasn’t always the case. On Treanor’s second goal, she won the draw, passed to Halle Majorana and sprinted down the field. The two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist got the ball back with her back to the net with a defender in between. Without turning around, she flicked her left wrist. The goal prompted a a Greyhound timeout.

Majorana and Treanor, two All-Americans last season, finished with five and four goals, respectively.

It was Treanor’s first game as SU’s draw specialist. The Orange graduated Kailah Kempney, who assistant coach Regy Thorpe called an “all-time great” at the position, last season. Treanor controlled 22 of 25 draws.

Midfielder Kelly Cross chipped in on offense, scoring twice in her first game back from her indefinite suspension.

Syracuse plays again at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome against Binghamton.

 

Published on February 14, 2016 at 2:23 pm

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