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Caroline Trinkaus smashed her stick into the turf after scoring Syracuse’s 10th goal Friday. She smirked, sticking her tongue out at Ashlee Volpe. On the sidelines, nine SU players hoisted a young fan, tossing her in jubilation. Job finished.

After its 10th goal against Virginia Tech last year, the Orange’s attacks and midfielders briefly embraced before jogging to midfield to resume play. There was still a job to do — one they failed.

It was the art of two different Syracuse squads. One on a downhill slope, free-falling from heights of back-to-back Final Four appearances. The 14-11 defeat marked the first of four losses in its final five games.

“It’s important to engage one another and remind each other of how it felt,” Emma Muchnick said. “We emphasized all week that that was not a feeling we were gonna have at the end of the day.”

The other, reimagining its identity after a three-game losing streak. It wasn’t the beginning of the end. It was the start, realizing a ceiling beyond early-season depths.

The latter, No. 14 Syracuse (4-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast), dismantled Virginia Tech (4-4, 1-3 ACC) 13-3 for its fourth straight win Friday, denoting its first moment with a winning record this season. Molly Guzik reached a hat trick in the first half — her third of the season — and six other SU players suffused the scoring column, while the defense held its opponent to three goals or less for the second straight game — the first time in six years.

“Our goal is always under 10,” SU defender Coco Vandiver said. “We have a lot of pride in protecting (goalie Daniella Guyette). We’re really proud to keep them under 10, keep them under five, sometimes.”

It was the antithesis of the battering SU faced last year. It couldn’t stymie Lauren Render nor Mia Pozzi, who’d scored the Hokies’ first seven goals and propelled them to a 4-1 first-quarter lead. The Orange turned that result on its head.

Within a minute of the opening draw, Muchnick flirted with the VT back line, nimbly caressing the 8-meter arc, whipping the game’s opening shot wide. Seconds later, she used the same move, bouncing the ball under Hokies goaltender Malie Follet.

“We had a good start to the game,” Regy Thorpe said. “Thought we could have pulled away a little bit.”

Next, it was Mackenzie Rich at X, locating Guzik galloping toward cage. The sophomore nicked the left post, watching it soar and hitting Follet’s jersey before trickling into the net.

Guzik wasn’t done. With two Hokies in her face, Volpe flung the ball to Joely Caramelli, who poached behind the net. Guzik received the pass, sprinted toward the 12-meter fan and pushed a sidewinder on cage, stamping her gratifying game by giving Syracuse a 3-0 lead.

“We didn’t show our best our last game against Cal,” Guzik said. “A big focus for us was playing as a unit and playing (unselfishly).”

On a power play, Pozzi found a wide-open Render, who scored seven times in last year’s meeting, for a rapid strike to trim SU’s lead to 3-1.

The squads traded possessions throughout the middle of the first quarter. Vandiver had a nifty interception halfway through the frame. And although Pozzi ripped it away, Kaci Benoit had Vandiver’s back, forcing another of SU’s 11 turnovers Friday.

Finally, Trinkaus broke Syracuse’s near-eight-minute goal drought off a tactful pass from Rich, avenging her missed free-position shot. At the start of the second, Volpe shuffled at X, locating a cruising Guzik to notch her third hat trick of the season just under 17 minutes in, one of the positive remnants of SU’s 0-3 start.

“They’re up to the challenge. They don’t complain,” Thorpe said. “With belief and hope, you can go a long way.”

Alexa Vogelman took that literally, running the length of the field for a clearance. After Ally Phalines punched her stick in Vogelman’s face, the junior ripped twine on a free-position opportunity. Volpe took over at the end of the second quarter, fidgeting at X and sprinting toward the cage to knock Syracuse ahead 7-1.

Then came her wizardry.

Volpe faked a handoff to Rich behind the goal. It was an astute hidden ball trick, with the design being for Guzik to receive the ball in front of the net and score her fourth. The overlap helped the Orange hold their opponent to one goal at halftime for the second straight game.

Out of the break in free position, Trinkaus remained conservative, passing to an isolated Muchnick. The senior weaved through VT’s zone defense, splitting Caroline Little and Murrell to extend SU’s lead to eight.

“A big focus for us this week was giving each other the space and allowing each other to build confidence and lean into each other’s strengths,” Muchnick said. “That was intentional to spread out.”

A few plays later, Trinkaus worked inside for the brace. Then, Volpe bolted off the 8-meter arc, flinging the ball to the left corner.

The Hokies, on their final limb, found life in Pozzi, beating Guyette for her first goal late in the quarter, terminating a near-37-minute goal drought to trim SU’s advantage to 11-2.

Still, it was a stout day for Guyette, who notched five stops and a season-high 71.4% save percentage. Perhaps it was because she donned football shorts, paying homage to SU’s all-time saves leader, Liz Hogan.

In came the reserves, sealing the win, with sisters Ava and Ella Peers each scoring to seal the flipped script.

“A focus of today was to play a little bit of a revenge game and use that to motivate us,” Vandiver said.

Published on March 6, 2026 at 7:17 pm
Contact Jason: jaglick@syr.edu | @jason_glick