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There’s a phrase that’s echoed throughout the Ensley Athletic Center every time Syracuse head coach Regy Thorpe enters for a team practice.

Don’t be casual.

It’s part of the culture Thorpe’s established over the last eight months. He wants the Orange to approach each practice as they would a game. SU fell short in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to 7-seed Yale under Kayla Treanor before she departed for Penn State. Thorpe aims to rejuvenate the program’s energy.

Syracuse returns 25 players and is set to adapt to the NCAA’s new regulations, shifting players to different positions. Still, it’s not a foreign group, minus the losses of attacks Emma Ward and Olivia Adamson. The Orange still have their two senior All-Americans in midfielder Emma Muchnick and defender Coco Vandiver.

Bouts with top-10 opponents like Maryland are something SU’s revamped squad will have to get used to. It has two more on the docket in the next two weeks, as part of the most difficult schedule in the country. The Terrapins gave the Orange a glimpse into what the next two weeks will look like.

And it wasn’t pretty. Here are observations from No. 11 Syracuse’s (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 9-5 defeat to No. 7 Maryland (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten).

New draw specialist

Thorpe kept quiet all offseason. No matter who SU’s first opponent was, he wanted its game plan on the draw to be a mystery. With Meghan Rode leaving for Richmond, Thorpe had boundless options to choose from.

He previewed it in SU’s exhibition win over Niagara, but really fleshed out Molly Guzik on the draw Friday, and she delivered a steady performance. With Kayla Gilmore inches in front of her, Guzik wasn’t fazed, turning the clock back to her days at Spencerport High School (New York), when she controlled 469 draws.

Guzik handily took the first two draws, flicking the second back cleanly into Mileena Cotter’s grasp. But things started to go downhill on the draw control after UMD’s second goal, and she was unable to capture the next two.

The momentum provided by a Caroline Trinkaus tally early in the second half helped Guzik get back on track, as she knotted the draw count at four apiece through one half.

Opening the second half, Guzik flicked the ball forward in the tie-up with Gilmore for Alexa Vogelman to catch, and she nearly scored on the same possession. Her crowning moments came in the third quarter, controlling back-to-back draws.

After she scored a goal herself, the next control scampered onto the turf, when Guzik used admirable acrobatics to spur a lengthy offensive possession.

Her debut at the position was a refreshing sign amid the loss. The Orange knotted the draw count at eight, with Guzik taking six.

Thin rotation

Unlike the Terrapins, the Orange limited their depth off the bench. Only using 14 players in the first half to UMD’s 18 showed that SU was going to approach the season opener with a top-heavy group.

There’s only so much time in which that might pay off, with players needing substitutions to catch their breath. It’s also an indicator that the Orange doesn’t trust nearly a third of their roster.

The back line was always a constant with Vandiver and Kaci Benoit. Albany transfer Mackenzie Salentre enters the year as a midfielder, but spent most of her time in the back-right defensive stance. Bri Peters and Izzy Lahah oscillated up and down the field on several occasions, too.

An offense fueled by a similar collection of players as last year — like Muchnick, Trinkaus, Cotter, Guzik and others — may not have been the recipe for success. The Orange had three freshmen ranked top 40 in the 2025 class who never touched the field.

In fact, Syracuse didn’t play a freshman all game. Treanor experimented with the 2024 class last year and found diamonds in the rough. With players like Lexi Reber, Guzik and Cotter, Syracuse relied on young players who could contribute, with some being everyday starters. Confiding more trust in the freshmen may prove beneficial for Thorpe.

Post clinks

If the Orange were playing archery, many of their shots would fall into the outer black or white zones. SU never needed to hit a bullseye, given the net’s dimensions, but it seemed that the post was a magnet attracting the ball.

Ashlee Volpe found a gliding Muchnick in the first five minutes, but the senior ricocheted her shot off the post. Volpe, who posted five early assists in the exhibition against the Purple Eagles, clanked her attempt seven minutes into the first quarter as well.

Two minutes later, Guzik stormed down the field, full steam ahead with numbers on SU’s side. But she didn’t slow down to find the best shot, and as a result, Maryland goalie JJ Suriano watched the ball doink to her side.

Even if it wasn’t due to the post, the Orange proved inaccurate Friday, having one goal through their first eight shots on goal. That’s not even including attempts that didn’t come within the crease. SU outshot Maryland 38-19 Friday, but UMD’s stronger accuracy proved consequential. It was an easy day for Suriano, who stopped 16 of 21 shots on goal.

Edmondson shutdown, Lapointe domination

It came as a shock that Kori Edmondson, the Terrapins’ leading goal scorer from last year, was suppressed all night. SU did a clean job at defending her, not even surrendering a shot on goal.

Having just under two months to prepare for Edmondson, Thorpe proved he did his research, and SU’s back line hung comfortably with her.

The only issue was that it allowed several floating pieces in front of the net, like Lauren Lapointe, due to tight defense and double teams. It’s not that Lapointe went under Syracuse’s radar — she had 29 goals last year. But she never started in 2025, nor posted more than three goals in a game.

The junior achieved that feat with nearly four minutes to spare in just the first half. Lapointe beat Daniella Guyette in every which way. She flung her first goal from deep range in the yellow circle. Her next one was a back-door swing. Soon, Lapointe was up to five scores with two fourth-quarter goals in a 74-second span, with one coming out of free position.

Published on February 6, 2026 at 7:16 pm
Contact Jason: jaglick@syr.edu | @jason_glick