Syracuse came into the season with high expectations after returning its core starters, starting the season ranked as the No. 3 team in the country as well as being picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference in a preseason coaches poll. The Orange did have some questions to address though, namely who would replace draw specialist Kailah Kempney and how would Allie Murray fill in at goal. After a stretch when it lost 3-of-5 the Orange is back on a four-game winning streak. Here’s how the team stacks up midway through the season.

SUPERLATIVES

Most Valuable Player

Sam Fortier: Kayla Treanor

Anytime a player leads your team in goals, assists, shots, draw controls and is second in groundballs, she’s your most valuable player. Treanor is one of the nation’s best, but every year the senior has been at Syracuse her season has been cut short of a title by Maryland and Terrapins’ superstar Taylor Cummings. This season, and possibly Treanor’s legacy, will be defined by how far she can carry the Orange.

Tomer Langer: Kayla Treanor

This is pretty straightforward. Kayla Treanor has been one of the most dominant players in the entire country over the last few years and this year is no different. She leads the team in both goals scored and assists, good for 11th in the country and second in the ACC. She also took over for Kempney in the draw circle and has been dominant there too, winning 9.23 draws per game, good for second in the country. The Orange will go as far as Treanor can take it.

Liam Sullivan: Kayla Treanor

The two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist, Treanor demands the bulk of the defense’s attention every time she steps on the field. Even when faceguarded, Treanor finds a way to create for herself and teammates, leading the team in both goals scored and assists for ranks of eighth in the country and second in the ACC in points. She’s been dominant at the draw as well, winning 120 draw controls herself while Syracuse has only allowed opponents to win 135 as a whole. If Treanor continues to perform at this level, she will lead Syracuse far in postseason play and cement her places as the best player in program history.

Biggest surprise

S.F.: Nicole Levy

If the No. 7 recruit in the country can be a surprise, Levy certainly has been. Head coach Gary Gait said he didn’t know what to expect from his freshman this season, especially after he said her nerves showed opening weekend after missing her first four shots. But since then she’s scored in all 12 games but one — including four goals in the big 12-11 win at No. 2 Notre Dame. She’s also been versatile, her 15 assists are third on the team, and her 26 tallies rank fourth in the nation’s ninth-best offense.

T.L.: Alexa Radziewicz

It would have been very easy for the highly touted freshman to get lost on a defensive unit that’s littered with experienced upperclassmen. But Radziewicz has stepped up and made her presence felt this season. She’s faceguarded teams’ top option, from Northwestern’s Selena Lasota to Duke’s Kyra Harney. She’s been a big reason why top goal scorers haven’t managed to pad their stats against the Orange this year.

L.S.: Nicole Levy

Dubbed a “super freshman” by head coach Gary Gait before the season’s start, Levy has been a reliable piece on the offense, rounding out the dangerous attack of Treanor, Halle Majorana and Riley Donahue. She’s managed to score 41 points, as many as Donahue and just five short of Tewaaraton Award Watch List member Majorana’s total. Down the stretch of ACC play, defenses are sure to key to Treanor and Majorana. A lot of the attack’s success in the crux of conference schedule will rest on Levy’s shoulders.

 

Hannah Wagner | Staff Photographer

 

Biggest disappointment

S.F.: Loss to Boston College

No player’s play has significantly declined, so the biggest letdown of the year so far was 60 inconsistent minutes in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, when the Orange was upset, 13-8, after plenty of rest on the road against then-No. 16 Boston College. For the first time this season, the Orange never held a lead and lost the draw. Defender Haley McDonnell said the whole team felt frustrated and confused even while the game was still happening.

T.L.: Number of fouls

SU’s staunch defense looks to wreak havoc on its opponents, but sometimes it shoots itself in the foot by causing too many fouls. SU leads the ACC by a wide margin with 34.29 fouls a game. The extra fouls are also part of the reason why SU is giving up a pretty high 5.6 free-position attempts per game, with opponents scoring 25 percent of their goals off those attempts. SU needs to limit its foul count moving forward so it doesn’t concede easy goals.

L.S.: Loss to Boston College

A 13-8 loss to the No. 16 Eagles seemed to come out of nowhere in the middle of the season for SU. The disappointing loss cut some of the team’s momentum and marked the third dropped game in its last five. In its weakest performance of the year, the Orange tallied a season-low two assists. It’s the first time this year that Syracuse never held a lead, and it’s also the first time that an opponent won more draws than SU did.

Biggest X factor

S.F.: Allie Murray

Allie Murray arrived after taking a year off from the game with an aggressive style that assistant coach Regy Thorpe knew would lend itself to both spectacular plays and empty-netters. She’s been solid, keeping SU in it late against Maryland and a last-second stop to beat UND, and not-so-much, slipping and falling to allow an own goal and making the game-losing turnover against Florida. Her play could dictate as much as anyone else the expiration date of Syracuse’s season.

T.L.: Allie Murray

Murray has had spectacular moments this season like when she made a save with 15 seconds left to preserve a one-goal victory over her former team, Notre Dame. She’s also had very poor moments like when she turned the ball over and gave up the game against Florida. Her play the rest of the way will be key in the Orange’s success down the road.

L.S.: Allie Murray

Murray’s performance will determine SU’s postseason success. The Notre Dame-transfer has been wildly inconsistent this season, but has shown flashes of greatness. Which Murray will show up for postseason play? That’s the question and a big one at that. There’s lots of potential for Murray and her aggressive style to anchor an already strong Orange defense, but the likelihood of another costly Murray mistake looms.

 

Courtesy of John Strohsacker | Inside Lacrosse

 

POSITION GROUP GRADES

Attack

S.F.: A

This unit is a four-headed monster of Halle Majorana, Riley Donahue, Levy and Treanor, each of whom have scored 26 or more goals. The team averages 13.79 goals per game, good for 13th-best in the nation despite playing one of the tougher schedules against athletic, rangy defensive teams like Maryland, Florida and Duke.

T.L.: A

Syracuse’s best unit this season has been its offense it’s been absolutely dominant for much of the season. Led by Tewaaraton Award Watch List members Treanor and Halle Majorana, the SU offense has averaged an impressive 13.79 goals a game this year. Throw in Riley Donahue and Nicole Levy, and the SU offense features four players with at least 40 points — something it hasn’t had in any of the last three seasons.

L.S.: A

The four-headed monster of Treanor, Majorana, Donahue and Levy keeps defenses up at night. Treanor and Majorana both rank in the top five in the ACC’s points-per-game leaders and underclassman Donahue and Levy supplement the two Tewaaraton Award Watch List members with scoring of their own. If opponents can count on one thing moving into postseason play, it’s that SU will score — the only question is who?

 

Daily Orange File Photo

 

Midfield

S.F.: A-

No one in Syracuse’s midfield stands out statistically, but the unit has turned in solid play all season, Gait said. Kelly Cross, Taylor Gait and Erica Bodt, on the Tewaraaton Award Watch List, have led the unit in charge of dropping back in Syracuse’s complex defenses and pushing its potent offense up the field. Cross, who returned this year after a suspension, has played in 14 games but started just one. She’s chipped in 15 points and in a way symbolizes the whole midfield’s production this season.

T.L.: B+

The stars on the other units oftentimes overshadow the midfield, but its success has been paramount this season. After the Connecticut game, head coach Gary Gait said that he thinks that getting consistently strong play from the middies is what would put SU over the top. And he’s seen that of late. Taylor Gait has recorded five points over the last four games, all wins, after having just one point combined in SU’s three losses this season, while Eric Bodt, who’s also on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, also has five after recording just two over the team’s rough five-game stretch. If the middies keep up this level of play, this grade and SU’s success will improve.

L.S.: A-

SU’s unsung heroes, the midfield has let the offense shine while conjunctly allowing the defense to avoid the spotlight this season. Taylor Gait and Erica Bodt have allowed the Orange to control possession and chipped in with scoring of their own at times. Although the midfield won’t get much credit, its propensity to both control play and keep the ball on the offensive end are directly responsible for SU’s success this season.

Defense

S.F.: B-

The defense has been spectacular at points, going 14-for-14 on the clear while holding No. 7 Virginia to eight goals. It’s also had lapses during the losing stretch, allowing 13 goals to Boston College. A lack of communication and bad fouls, Thorpe said, has hurt Syracuse’s defense so far this year, but it’s mostly righted the ship on a four-game win streak. That excludes the 10-10 suspended game against Canisius in which the Orange allowed three goals in the last eight minutes before the game was stopped due to weather.

T.L.: A-

Largely, SU has had a lot of success this season limiting opponents to just 8.9 goals per game. The unit has had some struggles on the clear this season and, as detailed above, penalties and giving up free positions are a problem. But other then that, the defense has been very strong this year led by its core group of veterans.

L.S.: B+

Looking at the numbers, the Orange defense has performed well this season. Allowing only 8.9 goals per game due to a staunch backer zone, SU’s physicality cuts opponents down before even allowing opportunities to shoot on goalkeeper Murray. With an ACC-high 34.29 fouls a game, there’s still room for improvement. Opponents are scoring on 42.5 percent of all free-position shots they’re awarded ­— a number that must come down if SU wants to be successful in tight games against top-tier opponents.

Draw

S.F.: A

Syracuse has nabbed 61 percent (207-of-342) of available draws, which is the team’s best mark in three seasons. Considering Treanor was thrust into the role just this season after the graduation of specialist Kailah Kempney, and had won just 48 draws across three previous seasons, her team-leading total of 120 has been crucial to the Orange controlling possessions, and games.

T.L.: A-

Treanor had big shoes to fill after Kempney left, and she’s largely done a good job over the course of the season as the main draw specialist. But SU’s draw success has slowed in recent weeks. In the Orange’s last four ACC games, their opponents have actually won the draw battle, 52-48. SU has managed to go 3-1 in those games, but it’s definitely something to monitor moving forward.

 

Liam Sheehan | Asst. Photo Editor

 

L.S.: A

Treanor assumed primary responsibility for the draw this season and has shown that she’s just as lethal in the circle as she is around the crease. Her 9.23 draw controls per game lead the ACC. By dominating in another facet of her game, Treanor continues to make defenses pay with her elite stick skills, quick hands and ability to pass out of the draw. She kick-starts most Orange possessions and also finds a way to finish them.

Goalies

S.F.: B+

This is really a grade for Murray, who’s played 684 of 840 possible minutes (81 percent) in the cage for the Orange and the only time she comes out has been the ends of non-competitive games. Gait said the coaching staff has Murray aim for a .500 save percentage, and Murray’s near that pace at .414 currently. But really, other than the aforementioned mistakes, she’s come up big for the Orange in key moments.

T.L.: B+

This grade largely reflects Allie Murray, who’s been SU’s primary goalie all year. And as detailed above, there’s really good Allie Murray and there have also been glimpses of really bad Allie Murray. Overall this year, the good has outweighed the bad, and if she continues playing at the level she’s played it the last few games, this grade will also go up.

L.S.: B-

As detailed above, Murray’s play has been inconsistent at times. Her goals against average of 8.68 ranks 10th best in the ACC, and her save percentage is ninth best. But Murray has shown flashes of greatness as she did to help Syracuse hold on in a 12-11 win against her former school, Notre Dame. Her range of play deserves averages neither a high mark nor a low one, because as a whole her body of work appears average.

Published on April 11, 2016 at 11:54 pm