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Playing eight ranked matchups through 11 games isn’t the norm around the country. But for Syracuse, it’s the standard. At this point, SU has seen it all. It’s been blown out, it’s dominated opponents, it’s lost in overtime, it’s won in overtime.

So when the Orange entered the fourth quarter tied, they knew exactly how to seal the deal.

No. 8 Syracuse (7-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 21 Notre Dame (6-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) 12-11 Sunday after winning the fourth quarter. Behind a 15-for-24 advantage in the draw circle and Emma Ward’s team-high six points, the Orange put away the Fighting Irish, capturing their fourth ranked win of the season.

“When you’re in tight games, players got to step up and make plays,” Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor said postgame. “And we made the plays that we needed to in order to win the game.”

Tied 8-8 entering the fourth quarter, SU had been in this position before. Whether a loss to Clemson, an overtime win over Stanford, an overtime loss to Johns Hopkins or a regulation win over Loyola Wednesday, the Orange have found their way into fourth quarters where the margin for error is critically low. Treanor even joked postgame she was happy this contest didn’t go to the extra period.

Fifty seconds in, Syracuse took control. The Orange jumped in front on a goal from Joely Caramelli, splitting through the middle and finishing while being pushed to the ground. The push resulted in a yellow card, which Syracuse took advantage of seconds later to mount a two-goal lead.

Treanor said she thought SU’s discipline was key to outlasting the Fighting Irish. ND’s yellow card, mounted with another earlier in the contest, put the Orange at an advantage. Overall, SU committed just 19 fouls to Notre Dame’s 30.

From the 14:10 mark of the fourth quarter, Alexa Vogelman added another, but a late push from the Fighting Irish put the win in jeopardy. ND fired off two straight, with Kristen Shanahan netting her fifth of the game to cut the deficit to one. As Notre Dame came mere inches from tying the game with minutes and even seconds to play, Daniella Guyette made two key saves, Coco Vandiver picked off a pass and Caroline Trinkaus notched her fourth goal to put the game away.

“It’s just a level of grittiness that was really developed over those games,” Guyette said of using late-game experience. “We know one play can make the difference and having to step up, and now any player can make that play.”

Early on, both defenses started the game on the wrong foot, allowing quick strikes first from Trinkaus before ND answered with Shanahan once she returned from an early green card. Following an early mishap, the Orange’s defense settled in by forcing the Fighting Irish’s attack to the sides and into poor passes.

When shots did find their way through, Guyette held her brick-wall status, turning away 5-of-6 chances to begin the game. Guyette’s strength between the pipes held the Orange together through the early going, posting a .500 or better save percentage in four of SU’s first five games.

For her exquisite standards, Guyette hit a lull against Johns Hopkins and then Pitt, combining for a 22% save mark on 50 shots faced. Treanor noted the difficult stretch due to an illness, which she played through and still helped the Orange to a victory against the Panthers. Versus Loyola, Guyette bounced back with 11 saves on 33 shots faced. Sunday, she saved 11-of-22 shots on target.

On the other end, Syracuse jumped out to a three-goal lead with Ashlee Volpe beating ND goalie Isabel Pithie low, Trinkaus adding one high and then Ward scorching another to lead 4-1 at the end of the first quarter. Guyette and Co. continued their lockdown efforts into the second frame despite the Fighting Irish dominating possession.

ND circled the perimeter, looking for any open looks, but SU didn’t allow any holes to be punctured. Constant pressure, even within Syracuse’s simplest zone defense, stifled Notre Dame from shooting. The Fighting Irish often saw their shot clock dwindle and needed to find a way through. They eventually did.

Notre Dame’s attack entered with the ninth most goals per game in the ACC at 12.5 but notched 15 or more in two of its last three games. After a slow start against the Orange, ND overcame an 18-minute scoreless stretch to mount a 4-0 run through the second quarter. Syracuse still forced the shot clock down, but in these instances, the Fighting Irish found the extra passes inside, beating Guyette on three straight shots on goal to mount a 5-4 lead.

Ward capped a 2-0 run by the Orange, ripping a shot into the top right corner to take a 6-5 lead into the half. Through ND’s second-quarter run, SU flipped between Caramelli and Meghan Rode in the draw circle, a consistent formula to turn the tide of an inconsistent unit. Caramelli’s quick start was swapped by ND specialist Ava Kristynik finding a groove. The Orange inserted Rode but went back to Caramelli in the third quarter, where she refound success.

Even with Caramelli thriving, Notre Dame jumped back in front by stopping SU’s attack and using pinpoint accuracy on offense. ND freshman Madison Rassas, who entered with a team-high 28 goals and 32 points, gave the Fighting Irish their sixth goal with a bar-down shot. Rassas, however, was limited to just one point as the Orange flipped between zone, player-to-player and face-guarding on defense.

Emma Muchnick answered Rassas’ goal with a push shot off a pass from Ward at X, putting the game back and forth throughout the second half. SU leaned on its experience to pull away. Treanor notably said postgame that she felt her team came out lethargic. She thought the Orange, nearly across the board, looked tired and didn’t have a “pep in their step.”

Still, SU finished on top. By now, the Orange can handle the heat of the final moments.

Published on March 23, 2025 at 2:29 pm
Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky