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Life is not easy for Syracuse women’s lacrosse in February. That’s why, two games into Regy Thorpe’s first season as head coach, the Orange are now 0-2, the first time they’ve had that record since 2001.

But Thorpe built a challenging schedule for a reason. As midfielder Emma Muchnick put it, championships aren’t won in February — but the Orange need to test themselves early to prepare for May. And there’s no greater test than a team that nobody can beat.

No. 1 North Carolina, which hasn’t lost a game since May 2024, served as a key opportunity for SU to prove it could hang with the nation’s best. The Orange did, but it still wasn’t enough to top the best team in college lacrosse.

The top-ranked Tar Heels (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) beat No. 14 Syracuse (0-2, 0-1 ACC) 13-9 at the JMA Wireless Dome Friday. Unlike their season-opening loss to Maryland, the Orange were efficient offensively, scoring nine goals on just 20 total shots. But while SU never trailed by more than one goal throughout the first three periods, it ultimately couldn’t keep up with one of the nation’s best attacks late.

The effort was all Thorpe could ask for.

“At the end of the day, it’s a loss, but it’s a loss to build on,” Thorpe said. “At this point, playing this type of schedule, it’s about just building on the builds. And if we can do that, eventually we’re gonna come out on the right end.”

Syracuse was in the thick of it until the fourth quarter. Despite trailing 8-7 at the end of the third, Molly Guzik knotted the game with a low-to-high rip on SU’s first look of the period.

That was quickly met with a response on the other end, as Kate Levy retook UNC’s one-goal advantage with a free-position score right after.

The floodgates opened from there. Dominating in the draw circle, the Tar Heels embarked on a 5-1 run with additional goals from Levy, Chloe Humphrey, Darcy Felter and Kiley Mottice. It forced SU into its largest deficit of the game. Despite one of its most efficient scoring days in a while, the Orange couldn’t quite replicate that success down the stretch.

“​​I thought tonight we had 40, 45, 50 good minutes,” Thorpe said. “You can’t collapse against that team.”

The Orange never made it easy, especially defensively. UNC head coach Jenny Levy and reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Humphrey both said SU’s zone defense made it difficult to get going initially. It forced the Tar Heels to pass the ball endlessly each possession, so Humphrey — who tallied 118 points last season — couldn’t run the show solo.

It worked for a while. Syracuse forced the Tar Heels into 11 turnovers, five of which came in the first quarter. UNC’s only early goal was Levy’s unassisted finish three and a half minutes in.

Syracuse promptly capitalized on its struggles. Molly Guzik scored a swift solo goal, working past several defenders on the right flank. After a few more defensive stands, Gracie Britton scored her first goal of the year on a woman-up opportunity, ripping a low shot past Betty Nelson. It gave SU its first lead of the season.

​​”We limited their runs, and we answered their runs,” Thorpe said. “I think that’s a sign of a team that’s got a lot of potential.”

Matched up against one of the nation’s top offenses, goaltender Daniella Guyette put in her best performance of the young season with 14 saves. Her first of the afternoon came on a close-range shot from Addison Pattillo. On the other end, Muchnick evaded defenders and trickled a bouncing shot past Nelson to extend Syracuse’s lead.

The Orange were up 3-1 at the end of the first quarter — the first time the Tar Heels had been trailing after one frame since their 2025 Final Four matchup with Thorpe’s Florida squad.

But, unlike that blowout — when the Gators gave up 17 unanswered goals in the second and third periods — Syracuse hung around through the rest of the game.

That two-goal lead slipped quickly. Caroline Godine scored on a woman-up free position rip, which snapped the Tar Heels’ nearly 15-minute-long scoring drought. Humphrey then teed up Kiley Mottice for the game-tying score 52 seconds later.

After starting 1-for-5 on the draw, SU swapped out Guzik for Joely Caramelli to help stop the bleeding. She won her first two draws, one of which led to a Caroline Trinkaus score that retook the one-goal advantage.

It was the start of a seemingly endless back-and-forth affair. Godine quickly set up Humphrey on the doorstep, who hammered an overhand shot past Guyette through contact. Then, after Caramelli claimed her third draw, Ashlee Volpe drew a foul and answered with a left-handed blast into the top left corner off the ensuing free position.

After Eliza Osburn equalized the game at 5-5, Muchnick helped SU take a 6-5 lead right before the half. Guzik found her open on the edge of the fan, after which Muchnick stepped down and maneuvered past a defender before slamming a shot past Nelson. By halftime, the Orange had already outdone their scoring output from last week.

“We love playing off each other. We do very well building chemistry every single game,” Guzik said. “I think, today, we showed that a little better than we did last week, and I think that’s something that we can expect to see from now on.”

The Orange stalled Inside Lacrosse’s preseason No. 1 player for one half, but once she began heating up in the third, the Tar Heel goals came in bunches.

Humphrey scored off a feed from Pattillo on UNC’s first possession of the second half to tie it at six. Then, Godine wrapped around X and tickled the twine to give North Carolina its first lead since four minutes into the game.

“A team like (UNC) leans on you, it’s like a boxing match,” Thorpe said. “Eventually, you’re going to give up a little bit. I think keeping that balance through 60 or more minutes is key.”

On the other end, SU’s Mackenzie Rich momentarily tied the game on a free-position score. Still, the Tar Heels retook the lead on the next possession with a Felter goal. It gave UNC the 8-7 advantage heading into the final period of play.

That’s where things went wrong for the Orange. Thorpe said the game mainly came down to winning draw controls. Guzik and Caramelli split reps through most of the game, but SU was outdone 4-2 on the draw in the final frame, which prevented it from gaining any momentum.

“You can’t try to go toe-to-toe with a team like UNC when you’re not winning the draws,” Thorpe said.

While Thorpe’s squad got close, it couldn’t find that balance for the entire game. And it leaves the Orange in a tough-yet-not-unexpected hole at 0-2.

Yet, by putting this schedule together, this is what Syracuse asked for. The road doesn’t get much easier from here. But Thorpe’s still encouraged by what he saw against the nation’s best.

“When you play a challenging schedule … it’s easy to say, but it’s tough to do,” Thorpe said. “This is a tough group. They’re resilient. They’re not going to fold, and they’re not going to quit.”

Published on February 13, 2026 at 4:50 pm
Contact Harris: harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6