Previewing No. 15 SU’s clash at No. 4 Northwestern, Olivia Adamson reunion
Northwestern nabbed former Syracuse attack Olivia Adamson last year. Adamson will face her previous squad for the first time Thursday. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
The opening seven games of Syracuse’s season make up two chapters.
The first — clashes with college lacrosse’s best — didn’t fare well. Against then-No. 7 Maryland, the Orange doubled the Terrapins’ shot count but were inaccurate. They couldn’t overcome Chloe Humphrey when hosting top-ranked North Carolina. Poor ground-ball play and excessive turnovers plagued SU at then-No. 3 Stanford.
The latter’s been auspicious. Syracuse made lineup changes to upset then-No. 13 Loyola. Historic caused turnover marks, Izzy Lahah’s emergence and low goal counts helped the Orange to three straight Atlantic Coast Conference victories.
SU may want to bookmark those glory days because they’re over. It faces Inside Lacrosse’s fourth-ranked squad before hosting No. 6 Yale Tuesday.
Here is everything to know about No. 4 Northwestern (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) before its matchup with No. 15 Syracuse (4-3, 3-2 ACC) Thursday:
All-time series
Northwestern leads 12-8.
Last time they played
On Feb. 25, 2025, at the JMA Wireless Dome, Northwestern rolled out a win that mirrored these teams’ all-time head-to-head record. The Wildcats bolted to a 4-0 advantage through 15 minutes. And while the Orange remained level the rest of the way, that first quarter became the difference.
NU’s first five goals came from different players. But the second half was a Madison Taylor spectacle, scoring five times. That was a standard performance in Taylor’s fourth year, as she went on to set the NCAA single-season goals record (109).
A glaring discrepancy was the draw, as Sam Smith helped Northwestern to a 17-6 rout. On the attack, SU was without now-Wildcat Olivia Adamson due to a season-ending lower-body injury and couldn’t replicate her output, with only Emma Ward logging a hat trick.
The Wildcats report
Don’t get it twisted, Northwestern isn’t a one-trick pony, but Taylor already has 30 goals and could be the heir to Humphrey’s Tewaaraton Award throne. The senior ranks second in the nation in expected goals added per game with 5.49, per Pro Lacrosse Reference.
Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has three other double-digit scorers in Aditi Foster (19), Adamson (12) and Taylor Lapointe (10). Foster ranks 96th percentile in EGA per game, a couple dozen spots behind Taylor. NU is the second-most accurate squad in the Big Ten, ripping twine on almost half its attempts.
Northwestern’s hallmark is its prestige in the draw control. It ranks 10th nationally with a 64.5% win rate thanks to Madison Smith’s 44 wins. However, the Wildcats carry defensive shortcomings, plummeting south of the top 50 in ground balls and caused turnovers per game.
In goal, Jenika Cuocco has saved 51 shots while conceding 45 and has the seventh-best goals against average (9.19) in the Big Ten.
How Syracuse beats Northwestern
The Orange must approach Taylor as they did against Humphrey with double and triple-teams. They’re equipped to limit her, allowing six goals across their last 120 minutes of play. But matching pace on the attack is a different story.
SU can’t fall into the ritual of Molly Guzik hero ball. She’s its best player with 17 goals, but that doesn’t mean the sophomore should be isolated at the net.
Guzik needs reinforcements, something Syracuse showed with 11 goal scorers in its dispatch of Cal last week. SU head coach Regy Thorpe could rotate midfielders who desert themselves at X, which worked against Loyola and Louisville. Emma Muchnick hasn’t produced much on the scoresheet, despite the expectation that she scores multiple times a game.
Daniella Guyette won’t face minimal shots as she did against California and Virginia Tech, and the senior can’t afford performances with negative goal-to-save ratios like those against Maryland and Louisville.
Additionally, concealing emotional jitters against a former player like Adamson is challenging. It got to the Orange last year in this matchup against Delaney Sweitzer, SU’s previous goalie.
Stat to know: 25
Twenty-five goals in back-to-back games is foreign. It’s a feat the Orange have never accomplished, while no team, aside from Northwestern, has done it this season. But the first time was so nice, the Wildcats did it twice.
In a five-day span in mid-February, Northwestern beat Central Michigan 25-2 and Marquette 25-7. It only made its lone defeat to then-unranked Colorado more shocking.
Player to watch: Olivia Adamson, attack, No. 12
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and while Adamson likely cherishes her days in orange, she’ll be licking her chops at the opportunity for vengeance.
While much of the attention will be on Taylor, Adamson’s unexpected transfer to Northwestern will draw some, too. Tied for seventh in the ACC with 58 goals two years ago, Adamson was one of SU’s most electric attacks ever in four years under Kayla Treanor. She’s 29 tallies short of a top-10 goals mark in Syracuse history.
While SU returned nearly two-thirds of its roster under Thorpe, Adamson opted to pursue her fifth year of eligibility elsewhere without Treanor in her corner. With the Wildcats, she’s scored in every game on an efficient 42.9% clip.
