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Syracuse has continuously gotten out to blazing-hot starts this season, setting the stage for potential dominant wins.

But that hasn’t happened. Instead, SU often wilts in the second quarter, allowing its opponents to climb back into the game and sometimes take the lead.

That was the case again Sunday versus Notre Dame. Despite No. 8 Syracuse’s (7-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) 12-11 win over the No. 21 Fighting Irish (6-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast), a 4-0 second-quarter run allowed ND to stay in the game until the end. The Orange have been outscored in the second in four of their last six games. Against Notre Dame, SU head coach Kayla Treanor said Syracuse was getting good shots off, but it still couldn’t find any momentum in the quarter.

“We have a lot to work on across the board,” Treanor said. “We have to be more consistent. I think we have to really continue to try to develop chemistry with our units.”

Syracuse has found no trouble starting strong. On March 7 against then-No. 6 Stanford, SU led 4-1 after one quarter, only letting the Cardinal get off five shots on goal in the frame. In all four games since, SU has grabbed the lead after one quarter.

But it’s never maintained control of the game. Against Stanford, as it began slipping on the draw control — losing 9-2 in the second — it let up goal after goal to go into halftime down 8-7.

Though the Orange eventually pulled out a 14-13 double-overtime victory, the game could’ve been put away much earlier if they’d rode their first-quarter momentum.

The same trend occurred against then-No. 7 Johns Hopkins. SU was doing everything right early, leading 6-1 after 10 minutes. Its offense was scoring at will, and its defense was locking down some of the best scorers in the country in Ashley Mackin and Ava Angello.

But once again, the early dominance faded. Mackin and Angello made their presence known, totaling 10 goals in the next 50 minutes to hand Syracuse a taste of its own medicine — a 14-13 overtime defeat.

The Orange’s lone strong second quarter in their last six games came against Pitt when they exploded for a 6-1 advantage in the frame. But SU couldn’t carry that into its next two contests. It held a narrow 5-4 second-quarter lead against No. 17 Loyola and trailed 4-2 Sunday to the Fighting Irish.

Much of Syracuse’s second-quarter regressions have boiled down to poor draw-control play. It’s been a topic of concern all season, with original starter Meghan Rode being replaced by Joely Caramelli midway through the season. With Rode leading the unit, Syracuse trailed 34-10 in the circle versus then-No. 12 Clemson and then-No. 3 Northwestern.

Draw wins lead to possession, and with continued possession, a team can score at will without much response from its opponent. That was the case Sunday against Notre Dame. Despite starting the game strong, SU trailed 4-2 on draws in the second quarter, leading to ND’s 4-0 burst.

“You have to come up with a draw in order to close out that game and hold onto the ball,” Treanor said.

Syracuse’s first quarter was nearly flawless. It went ahead 4-1, propelled by two points each from Ashlee Volpe and Caroline Trinkaus and a stifling defensive effort.

But the Fighting Irish completely flipped the momentum nine minutes into the second. To start, Kathryn Morrissey wrapped around from X and dished to Meghan O’Hare in front of the crease. O’Hare dove and snuck a shot past Daniella Guyette’s right leg to make it 4-2.

Just 1:20 later, the Fighting Irish capitalized on a penalty on Caramelli. Franny O’Brien took the free position and dished to Katie Mallaber on the edge of the 8-meter. Mallaber immediately passed inside to Kristen Shanahan, who bounced the ball through Guyette’s legs for a second straight score.

On offense, Syracuse had no response to Notre Dame’s scores. When it did get the ball after an ND turnover or a rare draw control win, goalie Isabel Pithie was usually equal to its shots. SU sent just five shots her way in the second, allowing the senior to easily corral two close-range strikes from Emma Ward and Mileena Cotter.

Ward said the Orange’s misses sped up the game, and they couldn’t keep up. Still, Treanor thought SU was firing off good shots, and the scoring disparity was mostly due to Pithie’s strong play in net.

“When Notre Dame was going on a run, I really thought we were getting great offensive looks,” Treanor said. “It wasn’t like, ‘I don’t feel like our system’s working’ or anything like that. We were getting open looks and the goalie made saves, or we were missing wide.”

SU’s offensive woes let Notre Dame keep adding on. It converted two more goals to take a 5-4 lead — its first of the game to that point.

Syracuse eventually pulled out the win, but ND’s burst kept it in the game the rest of the way, something that would’ve seemed impossible after the first quarter. It may not have hurt them this time, but if the Orange want to truly contend for a National Championship, maintaining a consistent rhythm will be key to long-term success.

Published on March 23, 2025 at 5:28 pm
Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99