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After Syracuse allowed Northwestern to score on its first possession, both offenses went into a stalemate in the Final Four matchup. The teams committed nine fouls  over the next five minutes of play, with the ninth awarding Emma Ward a free position opportunity. 

The Orange went to one of their go-to trick plays at the free position: having Ward pass to Meaghan Tyrrell. Meaghan Tyrrell cut in from behind the net, and the play worked, tying the game at one. 

For Meaghan Tyrrell’s next score, she didn’t need a play. Instead, Meaghan Tyrrell found separation and scored off a feed from Sierra Cockerille as she streaked down the 8-meter. Then, Meaghan Tyrrell dished out her own assist, faking a shot and finding Sam Swart at the doorstep.   

In less than six minutes, Meaghan Tyrrell recorded three points, giving SU the initial momentum it needed to maintain a lead for the entirety of its Final Four game against the Wildcats. 

“She shot very well. She found the open players when she needed to, and she made big plays,” head coach Gary Gait said. “That’s what we need from her.”

When Syracuse defeated Northwestern in the regular season last year, Gait said that the Orange “took care of business.” Against Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament this year, SU, led by Meaghan Tyrrell, took care of business again. Meaghan Tyrrell’s success was necessary against No. 2 seed Northwestern (15-1, 11-0 Big Ten), as No. 3 seed Syracuse (17-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast) expected an offensive battle against the nation’s leading offense. The Orange’s defense held the Wildcats to a season-low 13 scores, and Meaghan Tyrrell delivered as well, with five goals and three assists in Syracuse’s 21-13 win.

Meaghan Tyrrell’s scoring presence has been felt throughout the NCAA Tournament. After only scoring four goals in its ACC Tournament loss to North Carolina, Syracuse exploded with a 20-8 win over Loyola in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Meaghan Tyrrell led the Orange with five goals and three assists, contributing to over a third of the team’s scores. Meaghan Tyrrell said that her success stemmed off of assists, mainly coming from her sister, Emma Tyrrell.  

With seven minutes left in the first half against the Greyhounds, Emma Tyrrell caught a pass between two defenders with the Orange moving in transition. Emma Tyrrell turned and lofted a pass to a wide-open Meaghan Tyrrell at the crease for an easy score.

Against Northwestern, the Tyrrells repeated this connection at the end of the first half. After Northwestern received its third yellow card of the afternoon, Meaghan Tyrrell took advantage of the woman-up opportunity. She found Emma Tyrrell cutting from the left side of the 8-meter to give the Orange a six-goal lead.

Like on Emma Tyrrell’s score, Meaghan Tyrrell said that a majority of the Orange’s success came from their ability to utilize cutters. Heading into the game, Northwestern’s defense only allowed 10.2 goals per game, but with Meaghan Tyrrell and the motion offense, SU was able to double that on Friday. 

“With the way we were moving the ball, it created a lot of opportunity for us to slip through and make those cuts,” Meaghan Tyrrell said. “Their defense was sliding a certain way, so we were able to find those little holes to cut through and pass through.”

Against No. 6 seed Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals, the Orange found success from the 8-meter, with five of their scores coming at the free position. SU went 5-for-6 on free position shots, including one score from Meaghan Tyrrell. 

In the second half of its Final Four matchup against Northwestern, Meaghan Tyrrell again struck at the free position. Following Izzy Scane’s first score of the game, Meaghan Tyrrell earned a shooting space violation call inside the 8-meter. 

Instead of electing to pass like Ward had done early in the first half, Meaghan Tyrrell decided to charge the cage. She kept her stick high and whipped a shot at the right side of the cage to earn a hat trick. Three minutes later, Meaghan Tyrrell found herself back at the top of the 8-meter, and she found the back of the net again. 

But midway through the last period, Northwestern launched a comeback. Despite being a woman down, NU’s Sammy Mueller caused a turnover, intercepting a pass from Kerry Defliese. Mueller found Erin Coykendall, who was one-on-one with Asa Goldstock at the crease, for a score.

The Wildcats tallied three more scores after Coykendall’s, each causing the Orange’s defense to tense up a little more. Then, like many other times during the season, Meaghan Tyrrell relieved those stresses, notching her fifth score of the game off a pass from Ella Simkins. 

By the end of the afternoon, Meaghan Tyrrell notched one more assist to bring her individual total to eight points. In the NCAA Tournament, Northwestern, Florida and Loyola have not found an answer against the Orange’s best player. In only three tournament games, Meaghan Tyrrell has 24 points, with 15 goals and nine assists. 

Gait was surprised that Meaghan Tyrrell didn’t receive a Tewaaraton Award finalist nomination, but he said that an individual achievement isn’t as important to Meaghan Tyrrell as a win on Sunday against Boston College would be. 

“She didn’t get picked, but she’ll take a national championship over any Tewaaraton Award any day,” Gait said.

Published on May 28, 2021 at 10:50 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu