Fond Farewell: Syracuse women’s lacrosse highlights senior day with 11-8 victory
Katie Rowan’s lacrosse career has always been defined by her goal-scoring abilities. But in the senior attack’s final career game at the Carrier Dome, she showcased another aspect of her game – passing.
The Big East’s all-time leading scorer notched six assists in Syracuse’s game against No. 17 Cornell, firing helpers to four different teammates. In the process, the Big Red held Rowan scoreless for only the second time this season.
‘I got some shots, but I wasn’t really shooting well today,’ Rowan said. ‘My shots went straight at the goalie. So when the slides were coming, I was just keeping my head up, and the girls got open. It was great, because they were finishing their shots.’
Seniors Awehiyo Thomas, Megan Mosenson and Bridget Looney ultimately bailed Rowan out, combining to tally seven goals as No. 8 Syracuse (11-3, 4-1) defeated Cornell, 11-8, Wednesday on Senior Night at the Carrier Dome.
For the Orange’s five seniors, it was a fitting farewell for the home crowd that watched them develop Syracuse into one of the nation’s elite teams. The veteran group stole the show during the team’s regular-season home finale, giving Syracuse head coach Gary Gait every reason to smile during his postgame press conference.
‘The senior class has been an exceptional class,’ Gait said. ‘When I stepped in here last year as a coach, they bought into what I wanted to do. They’ve been the heart and soul of this team. They showed great leadership and composure with a coaching change in the middle of their careers here.’
That veteran leadership was certainly needed against the Big Red. After owning a five-goal lead against its instate rivals going into halftime, Syracuse, for the second consecutive game, struggled to maintain composure during the second half.
Cornell’s speedy attackers punished the SU defenders, controlling possession and bombarding goalkeeper Liz Hogan with shots. In a 15-minute span during the half, the Big Red managed to strike fear into the Orange, scoring five successive goals.
As a result of the sloppy defending, Syracuse’s five-goal lead quickly dissipated into a slender two-goal advantage.
‘Cornell was really beating us at everything,’ SU attack Halley Quillinan said. ‘They were beating us to ground balls. They were swarming us in the midfield. Maybe it was a mental lapse. We wanted to do the same things we did in the first half. They’re just a very talented and athletic team.’
Still, the mediocre defense was partly attributed to the loss of junior defender Eileen Finn, who injured her collarbone Sunday against Notre Dame. Finn’s injury forced Gait to reshuffle his defensive lineup.
It played to Cornell’s favor. Once the Big Red trimmed the deficit to two goals, the morale on the Syracuse sidelines was low. The squad realized it was in danger of wasting a four-goal performance from Thomas and appeared to be in jeopardy of succumbing to the opposing pressure. And Rowan’s ineffective shooting only added to the anxiety.
But in the midst of the adversity, another senior came to the rescue. With two minutes remaining in the game, Mosenson, the team’s fourth-leading scorer, caught a pass from Lindsay Rogers and ripped a shot past Cornell goalkeeper Kristen Reese to deflate the squad’s momentum.
‘Once again when the chips were down, and they made mistakes, they stepped up and made some big plays,’ Gait said. ‘You have to give them credit for that. It was another one of those games where we executed in the first half, but came out flat in the second half. Still, we held them off and finished the game.’
Despite finishing the game scoreless, Rowan downplayed her offensive struggles in her regular-season home finale, choosing to ultimately reminisce about the positive memories that her class had achieved. During its tenure at SU, the senior class led the Orange to a 51-19 record, two Big East regular-season and tournament championships, and two NCAA tournament appearances.
‘It’s been a great, great career here at the Dome,’ Rowan said. ‘All us seniors were just talking about the feeling before the game. It was pretty emotional just because it’s been four years here and, we’ve all had great experiences here.’
