4 questions Syracuse field hockey must answer entering NCAA Tournament
Syracuse's ACC Tournament run ended in the semifinals in a penalty shootout to Virginia. Now, it has numerous questions to answer as it begins its journey through the NCAA Tournament. Tara Deluca | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar is well-acquainted with the NCAA Tournament.
As a freshman at Old Dominion in 2000, she helped the Monarchs win their ninth national title. Farquhar didn’t capture another championship in her ODU tenure, but she still made the tournament in the next four seasons.
Then, Farquhar made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2008-10 as an assistant coach for SU. When she became Saint Joseph’s head coach in 2014, Farquhar’s success continued, leading the Hawks to four appearances in her eight-year tenure.
In her third season as the Orange’s head coach, they punched their ticket to a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament, where they’ll travel to Princeton, New Jersey, to take on No. 6 Liberty in the First Round Friday afternoon.
Her goal is simple: to bring SU its first national championship since 2015.
Here are four pivotal questions facing No. 10 Syracuse (12-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) as it begins tournament play:
How will the freshmen fare?
After Syracuse brought in 13 freshmen — and returned just one of its top-4 point scorers from 2024 — this season was always going to be a transition year. But SU’s freshmen have adjusted well, playing a vital role in its success.
Guided by veterans Bo van Kempen and Hattie Madden, freshman Aubrey Turner has been a key piece of the Orange’s offense. Her seven goals and 17 points both rank third on the team, while her three assists are the most of any SU freshman.
In her brief Syracuse career, her crowning moment came in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals, when she scored two goals to secure a 3-1 victory over then-No. 6 Wake Forest.
Turner isn’t the only SU freshman making an impact, though. Ally Snyder and Karsin Beatty have also turned in solid campaigns. Snyder has tallied four goals and eight points, while Beatty has recorded two goals and four points.
SU’s freshmen have certainly contributed to its fifth-straight winning season, but the team’s core is still primarily composed of upperclassmen. Van Kempen and Madden lead the team in scoring with 21 and eight goals, respectively. Therefore, Friday is a litmus test to see how SU’s freshmen fare against the Flames, who are mainly led by underclassmen.
Zoé Gaillard, Dara Semmartin, Josefina Tomasi and Morena Giacosa — four of LU’s five leading scorers — are either freshmen or sophomores. For the Orange to advance, matching Liberty’s freshmen production is paramount.
If SU can take pressure off van Kempen and Madden by getting top-notch showings from its underclassmen, an upset victory isn’t far-fetched.
Can SU avoid second-half collapses?
If Syracuse could close out games in conference play, it might have entered the NCAA Tournament with a 15-3 record.
In their ACC opener against then-No. 20 Wake Forest on Sept. 19, the Orange held a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth period. But after WF’s Mia Schoenbeck tied the game, Lauren Storey won it for the Demon Deacons in overtime.
Against then-No. 3 Virginia two days later, Syracuse held a 1-0 lead at halftime, outshooting the Cavaliers 8-0. Yet, in eerily similar fashion to its loss to Wake Forest, Mia Abello’s last-minute penalty stroke goal doomed SU, resulting in a 2-1 defeat.
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Most recently, the Orange blew a 3-1 halftime advantage against then-No. 2 North Carolina on Oct. 17. Syracuse looked well on its way to the best win under Farquhar, but Charly Bruder prevented that with a hat trick, including a game-winner.
If SU wants to capture the title, blown leads can’t happen. Stellar first-half play means little when it’s wasted by sloppy play in the latter 30 minutes. Syracuse’s success in the NCAA Tournament largely depends on how it plays when holding a lead.
What will the goalie rotation be?
A major question before the NCAA Tournament is how Farquhar will allocate playing time between SU’s goalies, Jessie Eiselin and Tane King. During the regular season, Eiselin opened each game and King replaced her at halftime.
Their stats are nearly identical, both recording 33 saves and a 71.7% save rate. Eiselin has a slight leg up, allowing just 1.26 goals per game to King’s 1.62, but both have proven their worth in key moments.
Against Wake Forest and then-No. 4 Virginia in the ACC Tournament, Farquhar opted to keep the more-experienced Eiselin in for the whole game rather than inserting the freshman King halfway through. After tallying a season-high nine saves against WF, though, Eiselin saved just 4-of-7 shots against UVA in the 3-2 loss.
Whether Farquhar rolls with Eiselin the entire game or gives King a chance against Liberty, who boasts the nation’s 15th-highest scoring offense, remains to be seen.
What is SU’s path to a championship?
Syracuse’s quest for immortality begins Friday against the Flames. Ironically, SU’s last NCAA Tournament win came against Liberty on Nov. 10, 2023. While the Orange trailed 1-0 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, Lieke Leeggangers’ equalizer and Charlotte de Vries’ game-winner helped them advance.
Since the win over LU in 2023, however, SU is 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament, with losses to Duke and Harvard in its past two appearances.
If Syracuse beats Liberty — which enters Friday riding a seven-game win streak — it’d face either No. 3 Princeton or No. 20 Fairfield.
Barring an unforeseen upset, SU would likely play Princeton, which it beat 1-0 on Sept. 12 behind a van Kempen penalty stroke game-winner. The Tigers’ 2.67 goals per game are 19th in the nation, while they’ve cruised to 11 straight wins and an Ivy League title. Beating both Liberty and Princeton may seem unrealistic for Syracuse, but it’s quieted the Tigers’ ferocious attack before.
If the Orange advance to the Final Four for the first time in a decade, they’d most likely have a chance for revenge against No. 4 Harvard or square off with Wake Forest for the second time in three weeks.
And if SU returns to the National Championship, a matchup with No. 2 18-1 Northwestern or No. 1 North Carolina may be ahead. The Tar Heels have won 14 of their last 15 games against Syracuse.
