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The big-game feeling is familiar to Emma Muchnick. She’s experienced a radiant spotlight across summers with USA Lacrosse, and in nine postseason games in a Syracuse uniform, she’d scored eight goals.

This season isn’t all she personally anticipated, taking a secondary role behind Molly Guzik and Caroline Trinkaus offensively. But when called upon in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, there was no doubt she wouldn’t come through.

“Big players step up in big moments,” SU head coach Regy Thorpe said postgame. “At this time of the year, you need your seniors to step up in big moments, and I thought she did that.”

Muchnick tallied a season-high five points in No. 4 seed Syracuse’s (13-4, 7-3 ACC) nail-biting 11-9 win over No. 5 seed Virginia (8-9, 6-4 ACC) in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals Wednesday. She scored three goals in the first half, boosting SU to a four-score halftime lead. Though she was limited in the next 30 minutes, a late takeaway in the game’s final minutes kept Syracuse ahead amid a last-ditch Virginia comeback attempt.

“She did great on the statsheet, and she was great between the 30s,” Thorpe said. “She was just all over the field today.”

Wednesday’s back 30 minutes were far different from the first 30, largely because Muchnick wasn’t as involved in the offense. She took one shot, a significant contrast to her three first-half scores. But when she did unleash toward UVA goalie Elyse Finnelle, she was perfect.

All four of Muchnick’s shots ripped mesh, and her first-half hat trick materialized in 29 minutes. The craziest part is, just one month ago, Muchnick and SU’s entire offense were limited to six goals against the Cavaliers. In that 6-5 Syracuse win, Muchnick was held without a shot for the fourth time in her 58-game SU career.

Thorpe said then that the Orange’s offense had a lot of work to do, and when asked whether he envisioned the defense being SU’s identity, he was quick to point to his midfielders’ defensive presence as well. Muchnick’s main contributions have come on offense, but on Wednesday, the midfielder made the game’s biggest play on the other side of the field.

In Syracuse’s famed zone defense, Muchnick stood alongside Virginia leading point-getter Kate Galica just inside the 12-meter fan. The Orange’s once-five-goal lead had evaporated to two, and the Cavaliers were running hot with three of the last four scores.

UVA was also on a power play with attack Madison Alaimo at X. The 11-9 score didn’t tell the full story. The game was in Virginia’s hands. But Alaimo, with SU defender Cece Webb collapsing on her, released a pass to Galica. There was Muchnick, who stretched her stick outward and snared the pass to seal Syracuse’s victory.

“That’s a big game for us, win or go home,” Thorpe said. “Happy for Emma.”

The thing about defense is, it’s never remembered like offensive production. So while Muchnick’s grab with 1:04 left on the clock was unarguably the game’s crowning moment, her three first-half goals kept Syracuse afloat in the first place.

Muchnick opened SU’s scoring in what was predicted to be a low-scoring affair off of both teams’ last meeting. Syracuse’s defense entered ranked fifth in the nation, while UVA’s unit placed ninth in the ACC with 11.14 goals allowed on average.

But after a near-immediate Virginia score, Muchnick punched back from the 8-meter arc. The Orange finished with zero free-position conversions for just the third time all year against Boston College, so Muchnick’s early score was an instant confidence boost.

“Just shooting in general, we gotta shoot the ball better,” Thorpe said when asked about SU’s emphasis entering Wednesday. “We shot the ball better today.”

Muchnick was a key factor in that better offensive production. Her next score came six minutes after her first. This time, the senior midfielder streaked inside as Mackenzie Rich lined up at X. In one swift motion, Muchnick finished Rich’s feed to extend Syracuse’s lead to 3-1.

While Muchnick’s final goal of her first-half trifecta didn’t come for 22 minutes, it punctuated a dominant 30 minutes by the Orange offense.

A halftime break turned the tide, and Virginia, all of a sudden, scored three of the last four goals. Then, Muchnick awoke. With one minute left in the third, she received a crossfield pass from Guzik. She pump-faked to find Ashlee Volpe before Volpe reconnected with her a split second later for a shot between Finnelle’s legs.

“Our focus was getting a win against a very hungry and desperate UVA team,” Thorpe said. “Everyone’s tough. There’s no easy outs.”

It’s simple: Without Muchnick, Syracuse wouldn’t be advancing to the ACC Tournament Semifinals. And as the Orange now prepare to face No. 1 North Carolina, Muchnick will need to channel that same postseason stardom to give SU a fighting chance at keeping its postseason run alive.

Published on April 22, 2026 at 7:58 pm
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