Observations from SU’s win over ND: Holding on late, Ward’s bounce-back
Though Syracuse won, it once again squandered an early lead, as Notre Dame scored four consecutive goals in the second quarter. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse is starting to hit its stride at the right time. After exchanging wins and losses for six straight games, the Orange notched their second consecutive victory on Wednesday against No. 17 Loyola.
Production on both sides of the field fueled SU’s 14-12 win over the Greyhounds. On offense, though leading scorer Emma Ward wasn’t featured often, four players finished with at least two goals to pick up her slack. The group was led by Emma Muchnick’s career-high five finishes.
Defensively, SU handled the Greyhounds’ star attacking duo of Chase Boyle and Georgia Latch. By face-guarding the two, the unit held Latch to four points and Boyle to zero. Though Loyola clawed back in the second half to tie the game 11-11, Syracuse’s defense and goalie Daniella Guyette held strong to stave off the upset bid.
On Sunday, the Orange looked to construct their second three-game winning streak of the season versus No. 21 Notre Dame. Despite leading 4-1 early, the Fighting Irish fought back to trail 6-5 at half. But SU pulled away in the fourth quarter to claim the victory.
Here are some observations from No. 8 Syracuse’s (7-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) 12-11 win over No. 21 Notre Dame (6-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) Sunday:
Draw success
It’s no secret one of Syracuse’s worst areas has been the draw control. It was even more apparent against Loyola. The Greyhounds — who possess one of the best draw units in the country — led 16-4 in the circle at half, leading to Syracuse swapping Joely Caramelli for Meghan Rode.
Against Notre Dame’s weaker unit, SU was still shaky. Caramelli won the opening draw, leading to a Caroline Trinkaus goal. She traded draws with ND’s Madison Rassas and Ava Kristynik, who alternated in the circle. Caramelli helped SU go 4-2 on the draw in the first and collected the first two of the second as well.
But she slowed down after that, losing three in a row to propel a 4-0 Fighting Irish run to take the lead 5-4. This prompted head coach Kayla Treanor to substitute Rode in with three minutes left in the second.
Caramelli trotted back out to the circle in the third, and she helped collect the first four draws of the quarter. She was equally as strong in the fourth, allowing SU to lead 15-9 on the draw overall, a major rebound from its last matchup.
Ward bounces back
In Ward’s last two games, she’s been face-guarded, fouled — anything to stop her from taking over like she did earlier in the campaign. The strategies worked, holding her to a season-low two points in each contest.
Though against Notre Dame, she rebounded. She was often swarmed by defenders but was still given enough room to succeed. She got involved early by dishing to Ashlee Volpe, who buried a goal to put SU up 2-1. Later in the first, Ward tied her point total from the previous two games by sneaking a shot past ND goalie Isabel Pithie to make it 4-1 early.
Ward wasn’t heavily present in the second, but after Sam DeVito forced a giveaway, she went to work. She corralled the ball at X and wrapped around the goal, slotting a shot in the top right corner to give Syracuse a 6-5 lead at halftime.
While Ward didn’t appear on the stat sheet early in the third, she dished two passes inside that led to shots that narrowly missed the net. This foreshadowed her next assist, as Muchnick one-touched a Ward pass from X for her fourth point of the day. She added two more to Carlie Desimone and Alexa Vogelman to open the final quarter, finishing with six points (two goals, four assists) on the day.
Defensive swings
Syracuse has faced the most change this season on its defense. With Lexi Reber going down against Johns Hopkins and Julia Basciano out since the second game of the year at Maryland, the unit hasn’t been the same since the season opener.
On Sunday it couldn’t find a consistent rhythm. The Fighting Irish got prime scoring chances early, but Guyette was up for the challenge. Guyette has been one of the best goalies in the country this season, entering the game with a .469 save percentage. In the first quarter, she produced five saves, including a quick reaction on a Kate Timarky free position.
SU also produced multiple turnovers, with DeVito stripping the ball away and Coco Vandiver intercepting a pass, leading to just one first-quarter goal and none for 18 minutes.
The Orange forced Notre Dame into long possessions, passing the ball around the 8-meter circle without many good looks. It started the second with a three-and-a-half-minute possession that included three saves by Guyette. But from there, its defense started to break down. It allowed four consecutive goals to quickly trail 5-4.
The unit was strong to end the half, forcing three straight turnovers to lead 6-5. And after Rassas and Emma Murphy tickled the twine early in the third to retake the lead, it locked down again, allowing just one more goal in the quarter. Despite another scare in the fourth, Guyette pushed her save total to 11 to claim the win.
Holding on
Recently, SU’s gotten out to big leads but has failed to keep the game in its favor for the full 60 minutes. Against Loyola, it was a one-score game with minutes left before Syracuse extended its lead to two for the rest of the matchup.
The Orange haven’t played a complete game in a while, and the Fighting Irish presented an opportunity to do so. Against Notre Dame, Syracuse again got out to a lead, going up 4-1 after one quarter, propelled by Volpe and Trinkaus’ two points each.
In the second quarter, however, SU’s grasp slipped. It allowed four straight goals midway through the quarter to allow ND to take its first lead of the game 5-4. This was propelled by draw-control losses and ineffective offensive possessions, as Syracuse rarely had the ball in the period.
The third was closer, as the two squads battled back and forth, constructing consecutive 2-0 runs in the frame. Despite squeaking by with a 4-3 fourth-quarter advantage, SU failed to keep its early momentum going in the contest.
