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Ranked No. 1 for just the second time in program history, Syracuse women’s lacrosse played at Louisville on Saturday in hopes of extending its undefeated start.

During its midweek game against No. 6 Stony Brook, the Orange overcame a tumultuous first quarter to take a slim three-goal lead at halftime. From there, SU maintained its advantage, keeping the Seawolves at bay while Megan Carney scored a team-high six goals.

On the road facing the Cardinals, Syracuse was in command from the beginning. The Orange featured 10 different scorers, led by Emma Tyrrell’s game-high four goals. At halftime SU had built up a comfortable 10-goal cushion, to start the running clock. Syracuse cruised to a 17-5 win over Louisville, as the Cardinals simply couldn’t find a way past SU’s back line.

Here are some observations from No. 1 Syracuse’s (11-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) dominant win over Louisville (4-6, 1-4 ACC):

Early Emma

By the time Louisville called its first timeout of the game, Syracuse led 4-0 and Emma had a hat trick. Her first goal came just 50 seconds into the contest. The Orange worked the ball around the perimeter before she received a pass, slashed through the defense past the 8-meter and shot into the bottom right.

Then, Meaghan Tyrrell picked off a pass near midfield and charged forward in transition. She reached the outside of the 8-meter before the Cardinals defense slowed her down. She quickly turned her back to the net, flipping a hand-off over her shoulder and into Emma’s cut lane, and she calmly converted the one-on-one opportunity.

Later on, Smith picked up speed as she sprinted downfield and passed to Meaghan, who immediately earned a free-position opportunity. At the right wing, Meaghan stepped forward, but lobbed up a pass to Emma right in front of the crease, assisting her sister’s third goal.

All coming before the nine-minute mark in the first quarter, this was Emma’s second consecutive opening period hat trick. Last time out against Stony Brook, the midfielder was aggressive and helped SU battle to a 5-5 draw in the opening 10 minutes.

Following in Emma’s footsteps, the Orange offense followed suit. Going into the second quarter, Syracuse led, 7-1 and featured five different scorers.

Meaghan moves to third

Separated into four assists (three which went to her sister) and one goal, Meaghan’s five points moved her into third place on the program’s all-time points list. She sits behind Alyssa Murray and Katie Rowan who have 362 and 396 respectively.

All game, Meaghan caused trouble for the Cardinals. During some attacking moves, she’d receive the ball on the right wing and cut inside, making inroads past the 12-meter and into the 8. Other times, she’d hover around the perimeter before slotting a precise pass through the Louisville defense.

Sierra Cockerille picked up the ground ball in Syracuse territory and took off. She performed a quick give and go, losing any opposing defenders who had picked up ground. Entering the 12-meter, she found Meaghan right outside the left end of the crease. Cockerille passed the ball forward and Meaghan finished. Point number six.

In the Orange’s last two outings, she managed only four combined points versus No. 15 Duke and No. 6 Stony Brook. But today, she was unleashed again.

Meaghan danced around the right side of the field, a couple of steps inside the 8-meter. Her head was on a swivel, looking to dodge past her defender or find a cut from one of her teammates. Meaghan found Smith. Intruding deep past Louisville’s back line, Smith received a pass from Meaghan to nail an attempt into the bottom right. Her goal opened up Syracuse’s second half scoring. Obtaining its fifth conference win, Meaghan finished with a game-high seven points.

Defense continues to impress

Despite losing Bianca Chevarie to a lower-leg injury a few days ago in SU’s win over No. 6 Stony Brook, Syracuse’s defense held strong, limiting Louisville to just five goals on Saturday afternoon — the least amount of goals that the Orange have allowed this season is four.

Spearheaded by Katie Goodale’s three ground balls, Louisville only scored on free-position opportunities. There were few break away or transition chances, and if the Cardinals did escape the SU’s workhorse, midfield trio, Superia Clark handled anyone coming down the right wing while Hallie Simkins did the same on the left.

Although Sweitzer let in a couple of free-position goals from Hannah Morris, who led all Louisville scorers with two goals, she finished the game with six saves. At the 3:02 mark in the penultimate quarter, Kimber Hower replaced Sweitzer in net. Facing free-position shots from Izzy Holmes and Abby Scully, Hower denied both to maintain a perfect save record on the day.

New scorers surface

For the first time this season, Carney didn’t appear on the scoresheet. Entering today’s matchup, she had 40 goals on the season, but didn’t produce a single point and attempted just three shots on Saturday.

Ten different players scored against Louisville. Smith, Adamson, Meaghan and Baxter all scored multiple times as well. It wasn’t the fact that Carney couldn’t break through the Louisville defense, but rather that she didn’t have to.

The Orange celebrated when Shira Parower and Caroline Rehder both scored in the final period. At the 6:50 mark, Parower closed in on goal from the right wing and noticed that Louisville’s Maggie Foster had allowed her an open lane. Sprinting forward, she flung a shot past Sara Addeche for her first goal this season.

Payton Rowley dodged past her defender and entered the 8-meter. Nearing traffic, she found Rehder on the left side of the crease and passed the ball. Receiving possession, and crowded by Louisville defenders, Rehder spun and fired in one fluid motion to slot into the bottom right. Her score was Syracuse’s final of the game, a cherry on top.

Published on March 25, 2023 at 2:23 pm

Contact Tyler: [email protected] | @theTylerSchiff