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Freshman Emma Ward delivered a pass to a cutting Emma Tyrrell, but her attempt went wide. The Orange gathered the ball back, and Ward took her own opportunity to cut inside the 8-meter. With three defenders right behind her, Ward caught a pass from Emily Ehle and side-armed a strike into the back of the net. 

Ward threw her stick down and shrugged her shoulders, as Florida couldn’t find a way to stop her.

“(Ward) was on fire,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “Every time Florida made a run she had an answer.”

After Ward recorded a career-high five goals against Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, Gait said she had “her best game of the year.” But in No. 3 Syracuse’s (16-3, 8-2 ACC) 17-11 win over No. 6 Florida (18-3, 10-0 American Athletic), Ward surpassed her previous achievement in scores. She recorded two free position goals, and five of her six scores came in the second half. Her seven points propelled the Orange over the Gators, sending Syracuse to the Final Four for the first time since 2016. 

In previous games, Ward was able to find success as opposing defenses focused their attention on other scoring threats Meaghan and Emma Tyrrell, Gait said. But against the Gators, Florida succeeded with aggressive defense against Ward and the rest of Syracuse’s offense.

The Gators struck first in the afternoon, scoring just 20 seconds in the game. After Florida’s score, Ward tried to avoid the face guarding from the Gators’ defenders by using spin moves inside the 8-meter. 

Three minutes into the game, Ward spun inside the 8-meter and with defenders collapsing on her, she delivered a pass to Sierra Cockerille, who was fouled. Ward got the ball back 40 seconds deeper into the shot clock and spun right near the top of the 8-meter before spinning back the other way and delivering a strike. But Ward’s shot was saved by Sarah Reznick, who has the top-ranked save percentage nationally. 

By halftime, Ward had four shots, only scoring on one free position opportunity. The Orange recorded five scores in the first period, the lowest total they’ve had since their ACC title loss to No. 1 North Carolina.

Emma Ward recorded seven points against No. 6 Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals. Courtesy of Rich Barnes| USA Today Sports

Syracuse’s lack of offensive success came from struggles with its motion offense. The Orange were unable to find proper passing lanes or get enough separation from Florida’s defense through the use of the weave. But SU found success in the second half — mainly from adjustments that the team talked about during halftime, Ward said.

“In the second half we were cutting a lot more and going in the middle,” Ward said. “When people were cutting we were able to open those one-on-one lanes and get those wide-open shots.”

With cutters, pick-and-rolls and improvements on the passing end, Syracuse erupted, recording 12 scores in the final period. Gait said that, at halftime, he told the team to remain patient and allow Florida to present opportunities for SU to score. 

“In the second half, (the offense) started opening up,” Gait said. “Just be patient, they’ll get tired and make mistakes, which they did.”

Mistakes from the Gators came right at the beginning of the second half. After Asa Goldstock made a save on Florida’s first possession, Ward got the ball from Ehle inside the 8-meter. 

Ward received the same pressure as she did in the first half, with two defenders collapsing on her right after she secured the ball. But the defenders’ efforts were unsuccessful as Ward bulleted the ball past Reznick before the defenders could get their sticks on her.

Ward’s strike started a 5-0 run for Syracuse, but Ward’s dominance didn’t come from just cutting inside the 8-meter — it came off free position opportunities as well. 

In the first half, Ward scored at the free position, taking a single shuffle from the left hash of the 8-meter before blasting a shot into the top right corner of the net. At the end of the second half, Ward found herself at the top of the 8-meter again. 

Ward held her stick as if she was holding a baseball bat, winding up while the referee made sure everyone was set. As the referee blew the whistle, Ward rocketed a shot into the top right corner of the net, the final dagger of the game.

“Any normal freshman would kind of crumble under that pressure,” Goldstock said. “But she’s really embraced that role and she’s really excelled.”

Published on May 22, 2021 at 6:48 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu