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Syracuse was two minutes away from clinching a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game for the first time since 2017 when the Orange began their motion offense. With the score deadlocked at 17-17, Emma Ward received the ball while curling to the right side of the 8-meter.

Ward faked a pass and charged deeper before launching the ball toward the cage, SU’s championship game hopes on the line. The freshman’s shot painted the top-left corner, and Emma Tyrrell added a security goal in the final 50 seconds to send SU to the ACC title game for a matchup with UNC.

“That’s the great thing about this being a team sport, for a freshman (in) Emma Ward to step up,” head coach Gary Gait said postgame. “(Ward) was willing to take the risk and take the opportunities.”

In No. 2 seed Syracuse’s (14-2, 8-2 ACC) 19-17 win over No. 3 seed Boston College (13-3, 8-2) on Friday, Ward led the team with six points in the ACC Tournament semifinal victory. Without star attack Megan Carney, who tore her ACL against Boston College, Ward and Tyrrell combined for nine goals in the Orange’s win.

Gait said postgame that Ward’s success was due to the attention Boston College’s defense put on the Tyrrell sisters. The Eagles frequently brought defenders to the front of 8-meter to guard Emma and Meaghan Tyrrell, freeing Ward in the middle, Gait said.

“It opened up the middle and gave Ward a little bit more time to go in the middle of the field and make some moves,” Gait said.

Syracuse’s Emma Ward scored the game winning goal in the final two minutes that lifted SU over Boston College. Courtesy of the ACC

Because of this emphasis, all but two of Ward’s scores in the afternoon came off assists. In the first half, Ward used backdoor cuts to create scoring opportunities. After a timeout with seven minutes left in the opening period, Jenny Markey received the ball at the top of the 8-meter. As the defense collapsed on Markey, Ward cut to the crease where Markey picked out her fellow freshman for the score.

Boston College’s defense also played a heavy emphasis on face-guarding Ward. For Ward’s first strike, however, she gained separation after a missed free-position shot. The Orange regathered the ball, and Emily Ehle delivered Ward a pass inside the 8-meter. Ward wrapped her stick around the defender and shot with a tight angle to find the top of the net.

Ward’s early success was because Boston College’s defense was not sliding toward Ward, Gait said. The freshman finished the first half with a hat trick as the Orange headed into halftime with a five-goal lead. 

But the Orange’s lead didn’t last long, as they struggled to maintain possession and find holes in BC’s defense. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Boston College won six out of nine draw control battles and limited SU to five shots. Boston College also went on a 7-0 run in that opening stretch of the last period, tying the game at 14-14. Like the Orange relied on Ward for breaking the tie at the end of the match, they needed her again.

The Orange started their motion offense to get Ward separation in the defense. This time, Ward faked a pass to Meaghan Tyrrell at the top of the 8-meter.

Ward made her way closer to the cage and bulleted a shot while diving to the ground. As she got up from the ground, she saw the ball find the back of the net for her fourth goal, tying her career-high. Ward later broke her career-high with her strike in the final minutes of the semifinal showcase. 

 “She probably had her best game of the year,” Gait said.

Published on April 30, 2021 at 8:03 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu