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It must’ve been around 70 yards. 

Delaney Sweitzer stopped Jaden Hampel from point-blank range and fought for the ground ball. After a brief stoppage, possession was awarded to Syracuse. 

Looking up, Delaney spotted Savannah Sweitzer down the field, unmarked and calling for possession. Showing no hesitation, Delaney launched downfield to her sister — an inch-perfect hoist. Savannah received and ran before passing quickly to Emma Tyrrell just outside the 12-meter. Emma relayed it to Megan Carney in front of goal. Cool, calm and collected, Carney scored to level things, finishing an impressive offensive trip. 

“My teammates just make my job so much easier and I couldn’t do it without them,” Carney said. 

Entering this week, Syracuse achieved just its second No. 1 ranking in program history after extending its undefeated start to the season. Against No. 6 Stony Brook, the Orange met its sixth ranked opponent, and for the first time this year, faced an uphill battle from the jump. It wasn’t until 3:35 remaining in the second period when Syracuse obtained its first lead. 

Before halftime struck, goals from Emma and Maddy Baxter provided a three-goal advantage, and SU added to that in the third quarter, going up by five at one point. In the end, after blistering end-to-end scoring in the first 30 minutes, Syracuse (10-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) remained unbeaten, holding Stony Brook (5-2, 1-0 Colonial Athletic) to just two second-half goals in its 16-11 win.

Hampel jockeyed near the 8-meter with her back to the goal, her head tilted ever so slightly, looking for incoming runs. That’s when Morgan Mitchell rushed forward. Catching Hampel’s pass in stride she slotted past Delaney to put Stony Brook up just 45 seconds into the contest. Just under two minutes later, the duo hooked up again in almost identical fashion. Although Mitchell’s second goal went under review for whether she released the shot before entering the crease, her score stood as head coach Kayla Treanor argued with the sideline official. 

Meaghan Tyrrell sprinted toward the goal, making her way toward Hailey Duchnowski in the Seawolf net. Spotting Emma at the 8-meter, Meaghan dished a pass over and, immediately, the Stony Brook defense converged. Reacting quickly to get a low shot off while spinning to her right, Emma placed a perfect shot, squeezed between Duchnowski’s legs, to nestle into the back of the net for SU’s first point of the game. 

Both teams then went back-and-forth, the offenses completely obliterating either back line. The Seawolves led 3-1 before Ward assisted Emma from X to lessen the deficit.  

Mitchell grabbed her hat trick with 7:49 remaining in the opening 10 minutes and produced her fourth shortly after. Yet, each time Stony Brook took the lead, Syracuse always had an answer. In the first quarter, Emma spearheaded most of the Orange’s responses. 

Ward held the ball at X again, drawing the defense away from the crease. This freed up Emma right in front of the net and Ward swiftly swung the ball her way. Positioned one-on-one with Duchnowski, Emma fired to her left, piercing the net for a hat trick of her own. The score now read 4-4. 

To start the second period, Stony Brook struck first. Standing at X, Ellie Masera watched as Mitchell made yet another run. Hallie Simkins and Sierra Cockerille were unbeknownst as Mitchell darted forward for a career-high fifth goal just over 50 seconds into the quarter. 

Two Syracuse free-position goals sandwiched a Charlotte Verhulst score. The first coming from Ward and the second from Cockerille to knot the game at seven with just over six minutes remaining before halftime. Neither team could escape, make a run or shift the contest in its favor. Then, an SU shooting-space violation teed up Mitchell in perfect placement for her sixth. Mitchell didn’t opt to take a run-up, but rather just a step before launching a powerful strike into the top left corner.  

“A lot of credit to them,” Treanor said. “They [Stony Brook] had a really good player step up especially when their star was struggling a bit offensively.” 

Carney nabbed her hat trick at the 4:58 mark in the second quarter before giving Syracuse its first lead of the night. She would finish the contest with a game-high six goals. The Orange entered the penultimate period up 11-8, fresh off of a 4-0 spurt. 

“Just doing the little things allowed us to go on that run,” Treanor said. 

As the game progressed, SU’s offense looked more confident, stringing together longer possessions by flinging passes around the perimeter of the 12-meter without rushing into a forced attempt. Ward and Emma continued to generate a dominating partnership from X as SU finally gained some breathing room. For the second time in four games Ward recorded career-highs of eight goals and seven assists. 

“She was just unreal back there behind the net,” Carney said “She has great vision and knows where everyone’s going to be and when they’re going to be there.” 

Meaghan passed to Ward at X who looked for an opening. She found Carney and the ball barely stayed in her stick before it was slotted into the left corner of the goal. Syracuse had opened up the second half scoring. A little over a minute later, Cockerille charged forward and hurled into the top corner to provide the Orange with a five-goal cushion. 

For much of the game, Meaghan was quiet. Stony Brook, like many of Syracuse’s opponents this season, had opted to face-guard her. Isolated on the right wing, she danced near the 8-meter and spotted Tessa Queri advancing near the crease. Queri’s run curved slightly to the right as Meaghan swung a pass over. Queri caught it, still heading away from goal, and executed a cross-body shot that flew into the opposite corner. Her first of the game and just her fourth this season, Queri gave the Orange a 15-9 lead. 

Then, Queri earned a free position and fired another into the roof of the net. The goal was Syracuse’s fourth of the period and helped clinch its 10th straight win. 

“It’s a good top-10 win for us,” Treanor said.

Published on March 22, 2023 at 10:31 pm

Contact Tyler: [email protected] | @theTylerSchiff