Looking back at how Syracuse’s 2025 season deteriorated against Yale
When Syracuse women's lacrosse last faced Yale, it suffered a narrow 9-8 defeat in the NCAA Tournament. The loss ended SU's season, as well as Emma Ward's career. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Erica Bamford had an appetite for revenge.
Yale’s head coach remembered when her squad squandered 19 goals — the highest tally it’s conceded in nearly two years — on the biggest stage against Syracuse. That 2024 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals performance sent the Bulldogs into melancholy.
Next time would be different. The Orange wouldn’t have Emma Tyrrell to deliver seven goals nor Kate Mashewske to win 15 draws. More importantly, they wouldn’t be in the controlled climate of the JMA Wireless Dome. They’d be outside at Reese Stadium.
Yale was ready in its 13-10 upset over SU last April. But that was an ordinary Wednesday matinee.
They met again with elevated stakes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in May. With both sides seeking vengeance, the Bulldogs prevailed 9-8.
Now, No. 9 Syracuse (5-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) is looking for revenge when it hosts No. 5 Yale (7-0, Ivy) Tuesday. Here’s a look back at its heartbreaking 2025 season-ending loss:
Tale of two Volpes
Nobody was more fired up for another chance at Yale than Ashlee Volpe. She left everything on the line on April 2, 2025, with a team-high four goals, including three in the fourth quarter.
The midfielder picked up where she left off with a first-half explosion. While the Bulldogs scored the game’s first three goals, Volpe stormed back with two in 48 seconds. She perched at the right flank for two cross-body lefty finishes. Volpe traversed the 8-meter arc, with a flamboyant behind-the-back strike for her fourth.
Syracuse trusted her, and it led to a 5-4 halftime lead. But Yale deployed a zone defense in the second half, and defenders Emmy Pascal and Maggie Bellissimo swarmed Volpe. She forwent three shot opportunities on the second half’s opening possession.
With eight minutes left and the Orange up 8-7, Bellissimo smacked Volpe’s stick and scooped the ball to spur a Bulldogs equalizer the following minute.
“We were a little bit different of a defense through a zone as opposed to Brown’s man-to-man,” Bamford said postgame, alluding to SU’s first-round triumph.
Former Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor added postgame that Emma Ward, its normal “quarterback,” was limited, so the offense hinged on Volpe’s shoulders. Yale read the Orange like a book and held the midfielder in check throughout the second half.
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
Guyette resurgence falls short
Based on her performance, Daniella Guyette must have fastened a magnet to her stick between SU’s two tournament clashes.
In six of her previous seven games, she had more goals allowed than saves and conceded two times for every three on-target shots in that span. Guyette was benched after conceding 16 goals to Boston College, and she stopped just five shots in the next two games.
Yet, she was arguably the best player on the field against Yale, nabbing her first positive save-to-goal ratio since April 5, 2025. The netminder blanked the Bulldogs through nine minutes, which was the Orange’s longest opening stretch without conceding since April 26, 2024.
Guyette thwarted Jenna Collignon and Sky Carrasquillo — Yale’s leading scorers — before eventually conceding. The Bulldogs also struggled on the free-position, going 2-for-5 on the day.
After Yale’s three-goal first quarter, Guyette notched three saves in the second frame while her teammates delivered three unanswered goals. The goalkeeper held the Bulldogs scoreless for almost 15 minutes, reminiscent of what Yale did in the April meeting.
Even when Volpe and Co. couldn’t engender offense, Guyette was stalwart in the crease. She held Yale goalless for nearly 13 minutes across the middle two quarters. Guyette’s four third-quarter stops were her most in any frame.
But, much like the rest of her season, Guyette couldn’t stop Yale’s onslaught in the game’s final quarter.
Abrupt fourth-quarter collapse
Yale didn’t just figure out Volpe after the first half. It figured out everyone.
The switch couldn’t have been prophesied. The Bulldogs couldn’t bypass Guyette. Yes, Yale’s offense created plenty of opportunities, but its early inaccuracy was uninspiring. Caroline Trinkaus and Bri Peters’ tallies gave SU a 7-4 lead deep into the third quarter.
Syracuse kept pace on the draw, leading Yale 9-7 through three quarters. It was accurate on offense, netting seven of its 11 shots on goal. Izzy Lahah emerged off the bench with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
The cards were falling into place. A spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals was tangible.
Those efforts became a flash in the pan. While Trinkaus scored in the fourth, that score was the Orange’s lone shot on goal in the frame. After two late third-quarter Fallon Vaughn goals, the Bulldogs went 3-for-4 on their final attempts on goal, all from Collignon.
She found twine twice in the final seven minutes, leaving SU stuck with its back against the wall. Trinkaus misfired wide with three minutes left, leading to a shot clock violation. Guyette was pulled, and Syracuse was stuck playing monkey in the middle as Yale let the clock run.
Syracuse women’s lacrosse suffered a fourth-quarter collapse in the NCAA Tournament against Yale, ending its 2025 season. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Looking toward Tuesday
The defeat didn’t just end the season. It ended an era.
It was the last time Treanor controlled the sidelines for the Orange. It was the last time Ward suited up for Syracuse. Olivia Adamson wouldn’t don an SU jersey again.
Reinforcements seemed bleak. But pivoting to Regy Thorpe was a blessing in disguise.
He sits on a five-game winning streak, with a top-10 scorer in the ACC in Molly Guzik. Guyette carried the firepower from last season’s end into this year, ranked third in the ACC in save percentage and fourth in goals against average.
Though the Bulldogs are undefeated, they’re not battle-tested like Syracuse, having faced one ranked opponent to SU’s five.
The pressure isn’t on Yale to lose its reign over the Orange. Rather, eyes are on SU to buck the trend. It must prove Thursday’s upset bid of then-No. 4 Northwestern wasn’t a fluke, and Tuesday’s result will show just how far Syracuse has come in the last 10 months.
