No. 8 Syracuse notches 2nd straight win, defeats No. 17 Loyola 14-12
After downing Pittsburgh Saturday, No. 8 Syracuse won its second straight game by defeating No. 17 Loyola 14-12. Courtesy of SU Athletics
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Entering its contest against No. 17 Loyola, Syracuse hadn’t produced a winning streak since its first three games of the campaign. In the six contests after their 3-0 start, the Orange went just 2-4, including a matching three-game losing streak to move to 3-3.
But the bout with the Greyhounds provided an opportunity to finally build sustained success after SU defeated Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Orange desperately needed a win to change course from a season headed toward mediocrity to one that could produce another deep postseason run.
They did just that. No. 8 Syracuse (6-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) notched its second straight win by defeating No. 17 Loyola (5-5, 2-0 Patriot League) 14-12. SU commanded an 11-7 halftime lead, and despite Loyola’s second-half comeback effort, it was enough for the Orange to claim the victory.
“When we get down, it’s not about calling each other out, but it’s about who can be the one to step up and make a big play,” freshman Mileena Cotter said after SU’s win over Stanford on March 7.
On Wednesday, that was Alexa Vogelman. With seven minutes left, SU led just 13-12. But Vogelman scooped up a ground ball off a Loyola turnover and ran the length of the field. After being fouled, she converted a free-position goal to give Syracuse all the breathing room it needed.
The Orange’s defense held strong, with goalie Daniella Guyette stuffing numerous close-range attempts to seal the victory.
To start the game, Syracuse attacked Loyola’s weak defense. The Greyhounds’ unit has been their Achilles heel all season, only forcing opponents into a 29.7% turnover rate, the 70th-best mark in the nation, per Lacrosse Reference. They also entered allowing 13 goals per game.
On Wednesday, that was apparent immediately. By only totaling eight giveaways, Syracuse’s offense was given time to shine. SU sprayed 13 first-quarter shots at Loyola’s Lauren Spence, allowing its offense to heat up.
But it wasn’t through its usual outlet. After Emma Ward was constantly face-guarded by Pittsburgh Saturday, leading to a season-low two points, she was similarly ineffective against Loyola with another two points. But SU’s secondary scorers picked up her slack.
Emma Muchnick and Caroline Trinkaus, who’ve excelled playing second fiddle to Ward this season, pitched in with five of SU’s six first-quarter scores. Muchnick started by converting two of her career-high five goals to put SU up 2-0 three minutes in. The Orange’s offense kept piling on, building a 6-3 lead after one quarter.
“It’s a very balanced attack,” Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor said after defeating Pitt. “We love to see a lot of different names in the scoring sheet. That makes us a lot harder to defend.”
On the other end, SU faced a tall task. Loyola possesses a high-powered attack led by Chase Boyle and Georgia Latch, who entered with 88 combined points. And the Greyhounds’ phenomenal draw unit — which averaged 18 wins per game, the second-most nationally — presented a threat, too.
But Syracuse wasn’t fazed. It had already held both Clemson and Stanford’s leading scorers to two combined points and Northwestern’s Madison Taylor to zero first-half goals earlier in the campaign. So, SU’s Joely Caramelli and Superia Clark face-guarded Boyle and Latch, holding Boyle, Loyola’s leading scorer, pointless for the seventh time in her four-year career.
Boyle instead made her mark on the draw. She consistently outplayed Caramelli in the circle, helping produce a 16-4 first-half draw advantage. With little time to rest, SU’s defense began to let up. Guyette produced three of her 11 saves on one possession, but Loyola’s constant peppering of the net narrowed the score to 7-6 eight minutes into the second quarter.
However, SU locked back down on defense after the run. Caramelli stripped the ball from Boyle twice after two more draw wins. This directly translated to offensive success, as the Orange responded to the Greyhounds’ run with a 3-0 burst of their own to lead 11-7 at halftime.
Though in a game of runs, Loyola bounced back in the third. Syracuse only scored once in the quarter due to four saves by Spence and four giveaways. After leading the entire way until then, this let the Greyhounds deadlock the game for the first time since the opening draw at 11-11.
And still, Loyola’s success came without Boyle and Latch, who often stood to the side motionless, unable to get involved because of SU’s face-guarding. Instead, the Greyhounds ran their offense through Mim Suares-Jury and Gabby Stapleton, whose two goals propelled their comeback effort.
But the attempt was too little, too late. In just a three-goal fourth quarter, a second-half draw control rebound helped the Orange pull away. Treanor replaced Caramelli with Meghan Rode in the circle in the second half. Rode — who totaled just 28 draw controls as Syracuse’s primary draw taker in its first six games — was much stronger Wednesday. She led a 6-3 second-half advantage in the circle, limiting Loyola’s offensive chances.
And even when the Greyhounds did have the ball, Boyle continued to flounder. The senior turned the ball over twice in front of the net and had her only shot on goal of the game stonewalled by Guyette. From there, SU claimed the win via more defensive stands.
While it wasn’t as comfortable as they would’ve liked, the Orange’s win over Loyola was pivotal. A loss would’ve kept Syracuse hovering around .500. But the victory provided a necessary step forward.
“All of these games just give us more experience,” Treanor said after SU’s loss to Johns Hopkins on March 10. “When you have a really young team, you get better as games go.”
