Emily Hawryschuk started 40 yards from goal. The Syracuse attack darted forwards, attracting two Canisius defenders who closely trailed behind. As Hawryschuk approached the crease, the two Golden Griffins at her heels closed in, swiping their sticks. 

But right when it seemed like Hawryschuk would be forced to surrender possession, she found another gear and eased ahead before cooly finishing past the Canisius goalie for her fifth goal of the game at that point. While Hawryschuk dropped her stick and began to celebrate with teammates, the pair of Golden Griffins defenders lay on the ground, having crashed into each other chasing the Orange attack. 

Hawryschuk’s solo effort was emblematic of No. 4 Syracuse (1-0) dominant 21-6 victory over Canisius (0-1). Hawryschuk’s seven goals paced Syracuse — along with hat-tricks from sophomore Megan Carney, redshirt senior Morgan Alexander and sophomore Meaghan Tyrrell — to its 13th-straight season-opening win. 

“I thought we showed a lot of really good things,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “I think there’s always room for improvement, but I was pretty happy with the effort and the way the kids got the job done today.” 

Syracuse began the game with four goals in the opening three and a half minutes. Midfielder Sam Swart dominated the opening proceedings, consistently carrying possession forwards down the right side and finding teammates.

Whether it was feeding Tyrrell in the low block or finding a cutting Mary Rahal, Swart — who tied her career-high with four points — unlocked the Canisius defense all game. The Golden Griffins hadn’t even entered the Orange half before finding themselves down 4-0. 

After not being involved in the opening two goals, Hawyrschuk grabbed her first score of the game. With the attack going down the left this time, she received possession, bent away from the reach of several Golden Griffin defenders as she ran right, before firing her shot rippled the bottom right corner of the Canisius net. 

Hawryschuk did most of her damage operating on the left wing. After what initially appeared to be an SU offensive breakdown, Hawryschuk scooped up the ground ball, cutting inside from the left and scoring before the Canisius defense could even react.  

With the score at 6-1 early in the first half, Canisius scored two goals in quick succession. But rather than spark a comeback, the scores seemed to refocus Syracuse, as it went onto to score eight unanswered goals before halftime. 

After a Canisius turnover, defense quickly transitioned to offense as Swart caught a pass high above her head before marauding forward against a Golden Griffin defensive unit that was caught upfield, with just three defenders back. Swart looked off a Canisius defender, before finding a wide open Megan Carney on the left wing, who buried the ball in the bottom right corner of the Canisius net. 

After an out-of-bounds behind the Golden Griffin goal, Tyrrell patiently waited to execute a play, spotting a late cutter in Alexander who buried her shot. It wasn’t the only time the Orange scored off an out-of-bounds play, as Carney, who had a game-high five assists, fired a pass above the head of a cutting Hawryschuk. Though the pass looked destined to fly beyond Hawryschuk, she instinctively got her stick up in time, receiving the pass and firing the ball into the Canisius net in one swift motion. 

“Meg Carney is an amazing feeder,” Hawryschuk said. “So all the goals that come from her, they’re just so easy.” 

At one point in the flurry of first-half goals, sophomore midfielder Sierra Cockerille shrugged off the challenges of three Canisius defenders, even absorbing a stick to the body as she cut from left to right before another devastating finish to an attacking play. For the final SU goal of the half, Alexander, in her first career start, revealed no off-season rust as she adjusted to score a one-hopper goal after midfielder Kerry Defliese did well to transition the ball from defense to attack. 

With a 10-goal lead to begin the second half, Gait elected to play many of Syracuse’s reserve players, especially after Hawryschuk grabbed two more goals to bring her tally to seven. Both came in similar fashion, with Hawryschuk once again positioning herself on the low block to receive passes from Carney and Tyrrell, respectively, before using a quick wrist flick to slot the ball past the unsuspecting Canisius defense.  

But even with a changed lineup, the Orange were able to use up most of the shot clock as they worked the ball around, keeping its lead safe.

With a quick turnaround to its next home game on Monday against a “much tougher opponent” in Stony Brook, the Orange will aim to continue their hot start on offense, Gait said. Even after the 21-goal performance, Hawyrschuk believes there’s still plenty of offensive growth ahead. 

“We’re going to continue to develop our chemistry going into the rest of the season,” Hawyrschuk said, “so that come May, we’re perfect.”

Published on February 7, 2020 at 10:00 pm

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