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Delaney Sweitzer made a routine save on a shot from Louisville points leader Nicole Perroni just ninety seconds into the game. The Orange got a jump on the Cardinals in transition and Sweitzer quickly passed the ball upfield.

Sierra Cockerille reached down to corral a long pass at the center circle. She took some long strides straight into the Cardinals’ zone and flipped the ball to a cutting Meaghan Tyrrell when she got to the 12 meter. Meaghan ran across Louisville goalie Sara Addeche’s face before turning around and putting one through over her head to give her team a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

No. 1 Syracuse (11-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) dismantled Louisville (4-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) 17-5 on Saturday afternoon to extend its win streak to eleven and the Cardinals’ losing streak to four. The Orange have now held opponents to eleven goals or less in ten straight games. ACC Defensive Player of the Week Sweitzer continued to dominate, with a .667 save percentage against Louisville. Syracuse also had ten different goal scorers on Saturday. 

Emma Tyrrell started the game by bouncing a shot past Addeche fifty seconds into the game. A few minutes later, Meaghan forced a Louisville turnover and found Emma down field for a beautiful set up. Directly in front of the net, Emma whipped a shot top right for the score. 

Just 45 seconds after that, Emma secured her third goal on a free-position chance to put the Orange up 4-0. She had completed a hat trick less than six minutes into the first quarter, with all goals assisted by her sister. 

Following the free-position goal, Meaghan sent a pass to Emma Ward up field, which put her on a breakaway with just Addeche to beat. Ward did so, extending the lead to five and giving Meaghan her fourth assist of the game with more than eight minutes remaining in the first period. 

A minute later, Maddy Baxter had the ball at the top of the 12 meter. She saw Louisville was leaving her 1 on 1 with a defender. The junior midfielder cut to her right, moving around the defender, and rifled a shot across her body. The ball tipped off Addeche’s stick and fell into the net to give Syracuse their fourth goal in four straight minutes.

A Louisville free position score ended the shutout with four minutes left in the first frame. But, Syracuse responded immediately. Cockerille got possession shortly after the draw and drove up the field. She peeled away from the net and found herself way right of the goal with two defenders in her hip pocket. She ended up seeing a lane and rocketed a shot side arm to the top left corner to restore Syracuse’s six goal advantage at 7-1.

Syracuse came into the second quarter up 7-1 and put six more shots on goal than the Cardinals. The period started off quiet until Olivia Adamson found the back of the net about two minutes in. Halfway through the period, the Orange really started to break through.

Cockerille was sprinting up the middle of the field with eight minutes left in the quarter. She saw Meaghan cutting to the left in front of the goal and passed it to her. Meaghan took a few steps before turning and shooting just left of the post for a goal. 

Syracuse continued to tack on goals throughout the period, eventually getting out to a 11-2 lead. But, its defense continued to stifle Louisville as well. With a few minutes left in the first half, Perroni took a free-position chance but missed high after being swarmed by Orange defenders. The Cardinals regrouped and Hannah Morris took another shot, which missed far left. Sweitzer got the ball, but Perroni batted down her pass and scooped up the ball. Before Perroni could take another step, Natalie Smith swiped it out of her control and moved upfield. Smith quickly drew a yellow card from Perroni as frustration was mounting for Louisville.

Syracuse went into the second half up 12-2 and didn’t waste any time in pouring on more goals. Meaghan assisted Smith for a goal less than a minute into the half. Smith also scored later in the period right to put the Orange up 15-2. With a 13 goal lead in hand, head coach Kayla Treanor subbed out Sweitzer for goalie Kimber Hower with two minutes left in the third period.

The final period was mostly quiet as SU subbed out most of its starters. But, Shira Parower and Caroline Rehder did score their first goals of their Syracuse career as the game wound down to extend the lead to 17-3. A last gasp by the Cardinals saw Izzy Seikel put through two more goals to shorten the lead.

Syracuse outshot Louisville 36-22 in this game. The Cardinals struggled to create quality opportunities, with only 13 shots on goal and four of their five goals coming on free positions. The Tyrrell sisters accounted for most of the Syracuse offense, combining for eleven points and being involved in 8 of the team’s 17 goals. Cockerille tied her season high in assists on Saturday afternoon with three.

Published on March 25, 2023 at 2:16 pm

Contact Matthew: [email protected]