No. 7 Syracuse survives late scare, defeats No. 11 Virginia 13-12
Despite blowing a four-goal fourth-quarter lead, No. 11 Syracuse rallied in the final minutes to defeat No. 11 Virginia 13-12 Saturday. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
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A year ago, Syracuse rattled off nine straight wins through the middle of the season to define itself among the best in the country. Within the stretch, the Orange didn’t lose a game for over a month, defeating three top-10 teams.
It took a little longer for SU’s 2025 squad to get going. A season-ending injury to its leading scorer, Olivia Adamson, stifled early progress. But the Orange are here now and working their way into the nation’s top tier. Saturday’s performance against Virginia was another step in the right direction despite a late scare.
“We’re on a roll right now, so just got to keep it rolling,” attacker Emma Ward, who notched her 300th career point Saturday, said postgame.
No. 7 Syracuse (8-4, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 11 UVA (7-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) 13-12, capturing its fourth straight win. This is the Orange’s largest winning streak of the season. Despite squandering a four-goal fourth quarter lead, SU prevailed in the final minutes.
With a four-point performance against Virginia, Emma Ward eclipsed 300 points for her career. Ward is the seventh player in Syracuse program history to reach the milestone. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
As time dwindled down, the Cavaliers used a 4-0 run to tie the game 12-12. Sophomore Kate Galica, coming off 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year honors, entered the contest with an ACC-leading 99 draw controls through 10 games and took over down the stretch to mount a comeback.
The Cavaliers bolstered six draw controls to SU’s zero. The Orange committed six penalties to UVA’s zero across the final frame’s first nine minutes and mustered just two shots across the entire quarter.
But at this point, the Orange know how to win close games. As SU gained possession with minutes to play, head coach Kayla Treanor called a timeout. Treanor said Syracuse drew up a play it had practiced yesterday in its walkthrough, expecting needed execution in the final minutes. Freshman Caroline Trinkaus received the ball at the top of the fan and drove inside, earning a free position.
She capitalized with 2:57 to play, and following a rip off the crossbar by Virginia’s Fiona Allen, a scrum ensued. With the ball rattling over 60 yards across the field, Carlie Desimone scooped it in what Treanor described as “the play of the game.” With 1:28 remaining and a straight line to the cage, Desimone opted to run to the corner to kill the clock. From there, SU held off the Cavaliers for the victory as the final buzzer sounded with UVA just feet away from tying the game.
“It seems like we love playing one-goal games this year, which is really good for us,” Treanor said following SU’s fifth one-score result. “We are battle tested.”
Through most of the contest, it seemed the Orange wouldn’t need to rely on its previous battle scars to survive. The game opened with an offensive explosion as goalie Daniella Guyette struggled at a .167 save clip and both sides tallied five goals each.
Though in the second frame, Syracuse overcame past woes to mount a 4-1 advantage. Switching between Joely Caramelli and Meghan Rode’s draw dominance, which led to four straight wins for the Orange, the Cavaliers were held out of the net for 13 minutes.
Despite a 9-6 halftime advantage, the Orange struggled to get going offensively to increase their lead. Mel Josephson held strong, even with a nifty behind-the-back attempt from Ashlee Volpe sent her way. Molly Guzik broke the drought with 6:16 to play in the third quarter on a dish from Ward. The assist for Ward was her 300th point of her career, making her the seventh SU player to complete the feat.
While the Cavaliers cut into their deficit, Syracuse answered each punch. Caramelli scored, capitalizing inside with an emphatic throw of the stick in celebration. To end the third, freshman Annie Parker entered and quickly found twine, giving SU its largest lead of the day at 12-8.
Though Virginia’s comeback erased any progress in the middle quarters, putting Syracuse on the brink of a catastrophic collapse. Freshman Mileena Cotter, who notched three first-half goals, pointed out the importance of Saturday’s game for postseason seeding postgame. Both teams entered tied in the ACC, putting an emphasis on the end result in the final minutes.
Once again, the Orange wouldn’t allow another opportunity to pass them. Trinkaus scored and the Orange survived for their fifth ranked win of the year, hitting their stride at the right time.
“It comes down to playing well at the end, and that’s what we’re doing,” Ward said. “The beginning of the season, we had a couple of tough ones, but it’s about the end of the year, and who can win at the end. So that’s what we’re proving every game thus far.”
