Halle Majorana sees defenses key to Kayla Treanor in every game. After taking the draw and the first whistle blows, defenses shift.

Treanor moves from the draw circle to the attack and a defender promptly face-guards her. Opponents motion to each other and shout, marking Treanor as she cuts through the offensive zone.

With less than three minutes remaining in regulation and Syracuse trailing by one against then-No. 3 Florida, Treanor found herself cornered by three defenders. The Orange’s most potent weapon had been neutralized.

With Treanor unavailable, Majorana took the ball forward, fired off a shot and scored her first goal of the day to even the score at 10-10, a shot that would send the game to overtime.

“That’s definitely their game plan — try to take Kayla out,” Majorana said. “But we have a really great attack out there and a really great offense. We play together.”

While defenses pay attention to Treanor, Majorana has quietly resumed last season’s production pace. Majorana, a senior, has scored 14 goals and assisted on 10 more as the second option for No. 3 Syracuse (6-1), who faces Majorana’s former school, No. 1 Maryland (4-0), at noon Saturday in the Carrier Dome. She’s causing more opponent turnovers, reducing her own and shooting more efficiently, in addition to her goals and assists.

Through seven games last year, Majorana had 16 goals on 32 shots, but her lower total of 14 goals to date are accompanied by a jump in shooting percentage. She turned the ball over twice as often last year and she only needs two caused turnovers to match her career high.

“She was one of our leaders last year too, so I think she’s back doing what she does,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “… She’s making better decisions. … Overall, she’s just maturing as a player.”

Majorana feels more comfortable on the attack with a full year of Syracuse lacrosse under her belt. She played her freshman and sophomore years at Maryland, but took on a much larger role last season with the Orange.

Now, she’s building on that year of experience by making better decisions and using her high lacrosse I.Q. Riley Donahue, who fills the left side of the attack while Majorana typically stays on the right, thinks that her success is based on making a better distinction between when to pass and when to shoot.

Majorana no longer feels pressed to force shots. She’ll take a few hard steps toward the goal and attempt to move the goalie. If she moves one way or the other, Majorana shoots. If not, she simply passes.

The attack unit watches film together three times a week, and Majorana will focus on where the goalie’s dominant hand is — a fact that she attempts to exploit when shooting.

“(She’s) starting to understand the game better and that you don’t need to take as many chances,” Gait said. “You can be successful and take your time and really look for the good opportunities, not just any opportunity.”

Freshman year at Maryland, Majorana would fire off a shot without hesitating, oftentimes right at the goalie. Goalkeepers didn’t have trouble corralling her shots.

Just this year alone, Majorana has focused on mixing fakes into her repertoire. If a goalie in net is up high, she’ll fake low and shoot high. If a goalie crouches between the pipes, Majorana fakes high and shoots back down low, deceiving the goalkeeper.

With last year’s success, the results this year haven’t surprised anyone. But from behind the similar numbers, a more complete player is emerging.

“She’s always been really good, dominant and a strong player for us,” Donahue said. “I think it’s just becoming more confident”

Published on March 9, 2016 at 9:50 pm

Contact Liam: [email protected]