Observations from No. 4 SU’s loss to No. 16 BC: Draw deja vu, defensive duel
Syracuse's defense held Boston College to seven goals, but it was enough for the Orange to avoid their ninth consecutive loss to BC. Ave Magee | Photo Editor
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Entering Thursday night, it’d been 1,812 days since Syracuse women’s lacrosse last beat its biggest rival, Boston College. That stretch featured eight consecutive losses and 109 goals conceded. The most recent matchup, back in April 2025, ended in one of SU’s worst defeats in program history.
The Orange have been itching for a chance to avenge that 17-2 crushing for a year. And they’ve waited even longer to have a real chance at finally beating the Eagles. Thursday’s matchup was the first time in a couple years SU has entered the matchup as the higher-ranked team.
But that’s the thing about certain rivalries. Sometimes, when a team has another team’s number, the rankings don’t matter. BC isn’t really just a rival of Syracuse anymore. It’s a curse. And the Eagles proved that with a victory at Alumni Stadium Thursday night, snapping SU’s 12-game winning streak.
Here are some observations from No. 4 Syracuse’s (12-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast) 7-4 loss to No. 16 Boston College (9-6, 6-4 ACC):
Draw deja vu
Regy Thorpe says it just about every game; on Syracuse’s 12-game winning streak, the only thing he’s consistently asked his team to improve on is the draw control. But his wishes still haven’t been answered through 16 games. It felt like, soon enough, Syracuse’s struggles in the circle were bound to force a loss. On Thursday, that was finally the case.
The Orange lost the draw battle 8-4, their sixth consecutive game falling in that category. In a tight, defensive game, SU needed every possession it could get.
While Molly Guzik has been Syracuse’s go-to draw specialist all season, Thorpe and Co. haven’t been afraid to switch things up when things go south. And, frankly, that’s been the case quite often, as SU has now lost the draw battle in 11 of 16 games this season.
Syracuse tried to change that trend again, as Guzik and Joely Caramelli split reps Thursday. But the result was practically unchanged.
The Orange lost five of the game’s first seven faceoffs, leading to their two-goal halftime deficit. Though SU outpaced BC by one in the third quarter, the damage was already done. Syracuse’s struggles in the circle finally caught up to it.
A tale of two Guyettes
Daniella Guyette’s been one of the best goalkeepers in the ACC this season, backstopping the nation’s fifth-best defense by goals against average. Guyette’s even turned in some ridiculous performances recently, including 11 saves in SU’s quadruple-overtime thriller against Notre Dame last weekend, which earned her ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Through the first half Thursday, it looked like she’d cooled down significantly. But Guyette rebounded in a big way, making six second-half stops to give the Orange a shot.
Boston College’s first four shots on target of the game found their way past Guyette, and she didn’t make a save in the first half. There wasn’t much Guyette could’ve done about the first two. Marissa White got her hands free and sniped a shot into the top corner on BC’s first offensive possession, then Giulia Colarusso snuck a shot into the bottom right corner to make it 2-0.
BC’s next goal, though, was a backhanded shot from Kylee Colbert that seemingly tricked Guyette and awkwardly bounced into the cage. Molly Driscoll added the Eagles’ fourth score on a free position shot that deflected through Guyette’s legs.
Guyette made her first stop at the 12:17 mark in the third, a sprawling save to deny Colarusso from close range. She then stuffed Driscoll on a free-position look, but spilled the rebound, allowing BC to get possession, reset and set up Colbert for its fifth goal of the evening.
Guyette made two more key saves to keep Boston College off the scoreboard for the remainder of the period and kept making stops in the fourth. But, like the struggles on the draw and the attack, the damage was done in the first half. Ultimately, one of her — and her defense’s — more mediocre outings contributed to the SU loss.
Slow day at the offense
Guyette’s performance really wasn’t that poor, but every goal felt amplified in a highly defensive game. That was to be expected on Syracuse’s end, considering its aforementioned potent defense. But BC — which entered Thursday’s matchup 10th in the ACC with 11.46 goals allowed per game — wasn’t necessarily expected to match SU’s lockdown unit.
But alas, the Eagles’ defense kept Syracuse off the scoresheet for most of Thursday’s contest, and while their seven goals on the other end weren’t anything to write home about, it was just enough to come away with the upset win.
Overall, the two defenses combined for 18 caused turnovers, aided by sloppiness on the attacking end. The two offenses combined for 19 turnovers and six goals in the first two frames, leading to a 4-2 BC lead at the half.
Both goalkeepers stepped up in the third quarter, leading to just one goal in either net. Guyette and Shea Dolce both made four saves in the frame.
And in turn, both defenses locked up in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles’ first-half advantage was enough to push them over the finish line. Syracuse’s four scores were its least in a game all season.
Four free positions, no goals
Syracuse needed every good look it could possibly find against a stout BC defense Thursday. And it hurt that the Orange couldn’t capitalize on some of their best looks of the day. SU went 0-for-4 on free-position attempts Thursday, including two in the fourth quarter, thwarting a great opportunity for the Orange to match with the Eagles.
In the first quarter, Caroline Trinkaus had SU’s first free position look of the day, but her bid was snared by Dolce in net. Ashlee Volpe had another in the second quarter but launched a shot well wide of goal.
With their backs against the wall in the fourth quarter, Trinkaus and Gracie Britton both had their efforts stabbed away by Dolce. Meanwhile, the Eagles scored two free position goals, part of the difference in the upset.
