Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange dominate Louisville, 17-5, to move to 11-0

From the opening minute on Saturday, the Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team left no doubt in their total domination of the Louisville Cardinals, jumping all over them and running away with a 17-5 victory to improve to 11-0 and 5-0 in the ACC.

SU scored the first six goals of the game in just over eight minutes, more than Louisville would score in the entire game, to ensure there was no drama in this one.

The Orange’s superior athleticism and skill were on display in every facet of the game and every area of the field. The offense scored at will, especially early to build a big lead. The defense was on complete lockdown the entire game. And the middle of the field belonged to ‘Cuse all day long.

From forcing turnovers on the clear (Louisville 11-of-17 on clears) to going after loose balls and picking up ground balls, the Syracuse athletes got a chance to show off and show out in this one. It was a big day for the drip chain in that locker room.

Offensively, it was great to see Meaghan Tyrrell (2G, 5A) up to her old tricks again. The star attacker led the early onslaught by recording a point on each of the first five SU goals, during which she passed Alyssa Murray for third on the all-time points list at Syracuse. She finished with a cool seven points to lead the team.

As always, the offense was in a sharing mood for this game. SU assisted on 12 of their 17 goals (.706 assist percent). 10 different players scored a goal on the day. 11 different players scored a point. Five players finished with multiple goals, and six had multiple points. All of that, and leading goal scorer Meg Carney, coming into the day with 40 goals, finished the game with...0 goals and 0 points. This offense is so deep it’s insane.

Emma Tyrrell (4G) continued her goal-scoring resurgence, leading the team on the day with four goals. She had a hat trick just over five minutes into the game.

Sierra Cockerille (1G, 3A) had an outstanding day, finishing with four points and playing a huge role in the middle of the field and the transition game. Twice in this game, Sierra helped cause a turnover that led directly to a transition goal. One time she scored the goal herself, and the other she grabbed the assist. She also scooped up a couple of draw wins. Her final stat line read as follows: 1G, 3A, 3GB, 1CT, 2DC. A complete performance from Sierra in this game.

Emma Ward (1G, 2A) had a three-point day, while Olivia Adamson (2G), Maddy Baxter (2G), and Natalie Smith (2G) all had two goals each. Savannah Sweitzer (1G, 1A) finished with two points, as well. Shira Parower scored her first goal of the season, and Caroline Rehder scored the first goal of her career in the fourth quarter.

The defense had a total lockdown day against the Cardinals’ offense, literally. The Orange did not surrender a goal from the run of play until there were three minutes left in the game, and that was with all of their backups in at that point.

Four of the five goals Louisville scored in this game came from free positions. When the starters were in the game, SU did not give up a single goal in their zone. That is the very definition of domination by a defense.

Delaney Sweitzer made six saves, surrendered three free-position goals before being taken out, and finished with a .667 save percentage.

The draw unit was also dominant for the second straight game, as ‘Cuse won that battle, 15-9. Olivia Adamson led the charge with six draw wins, and Katie Goodale (5DC, 3GB) continued proving her value in the middle of the field with five draw wins and three ground balls.

The Orange will be back in action this coming week inside the JMA Dome for their final non-conference game of the season. They will host the Cornell Big Red on Tuesday, March 28 at 6 PM in a game that will be televised on ESPN U.