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Before Syracuse’s season-opener against No. 5 Loyola, Emily Hawryschuk said No. 4 Syracuse needed to do three things to have a promising start: Win the opening draw, score on its first drive and get the first defensive stop. 

SU did just that on Saturday. Hawryschuk won the opening draw, and a minute later, Sierra Cockerille lowered her left shoulder and rushed the cage, scoring Syracuse’s first goal of the 2021 season. Allyson Trice forced a turnover on defense moments later, too.

“It looked like we continued where we left off last March,” head coach Gary Gait said after the game. 

The Orange demolished Loyola 18-6 on the road to open their season Saturday afternoon. SU scored 10 goals in the second half, and four Syracuse players finished with three or more goals — including four goals from midfielder Sam Swart, which tied a career-high. Hawryschuk also had four goals and six draw controls.

In the opening minutes, Loyola forced the Orange to pass through tight windows as Hawryschuk and Meaghan Tyrrell faced double teams. Early on, that meant dropped passes inside the 8-meter arc and missed opportunities. 

But SU adjusted by moving the ball more quickly and finding the open player, Gait said. That adjustment was reflected in the assist column, he said, as SU finished with 11 assists in the game, three of which came from Megan Carney. 

“They sent the doubles early, and we prepared for it,” Gait said. “If they’re going to double and go to the ball, you got to move it and find the open player, and I thought we did a pretty good job at that.”

On a free position midway through the first half, Carney had an opportunity from the free position, where she’d already scored earlier. But, instead of charging the cage, she faked forward, shifting the defense and connecting with Hawryschuk, who scored from point-blank range to give SU a 5-2 lead. 

Defensively, SU utilized a pressure-zone defense, sending one defender to pressure the opponent with the ball and never conceding more than a few feet of space, Gait said. 

Then, as Loyola made its way into another Syracuse defender’s zone, the Orange were able to take advantage of a double team and discombobulate the Greyhounds’ attack. Goalie Asa Goldstock finished with a 44.4% save percentage, and SU’s defense caused 15 turnovers in the game. 

“We returned all of our defenders from last year, people who were hitting their rhythm last year, and they just continued to build their chemistry,” Gait said. 

Syracuse struggled with the draw control, losing the battle 9-3 in the first half. But the Orange opened the second half with a 5-0 run, and by the time SU had extended its lead to 10 and started the continuous clock, the draw battle was tied 9-9.  

Against a top-5 team in the country, Syracuse proved it could control all aspects of the game. Gait said he was a little bit shocked by the Orange’s dominance, since they’ve only been able to play against one another for the last 11 months.

SU faces No. 6 Stony Brook next weekend.

“Starting with Loyola and following up with Stony Brook to get in the conference play,” Gait said. “It’s always been my goal, if you want to win you have to play the best. We got to be flexible because we want to prepare ourselves come May again.”

Published on February 20, 2021 at 4:34 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu