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Syracuse is 4-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play thus far in 2024. But entering Tuesday’s game against UAlbany, the Orange sat at a measly 1-3 in nonconference play.

SU’s nonconference schedule has been filled with ranked opponents, facing Northwestern and Maryland — who sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the Week 6 Inside Lacrosse Poll — as well as Stony Brook and Army.

“The ACC is the best conference in the country, but it’s our outer league games that are really important,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said. “I think they were great tests for us early on in the season, and they’ve gotten us prepared for our ACC schedule.”

Tuesday afternoon, the Orange faced their easiest nonconference opponent yet in UAlbany, who began the season on a five-game losing streak. Coming off its best game of the campaign — a 15-goal win over UNC — SU began at a slower, less efficient pace before pulling away early through a 6-2 first-quarter advantage. No. 7 Syracuse (6-3, 4-0 ACC) handily defeated UAlbany (2-7, 1-0 America East Conference) 20-11 behind four-goal efforts from Olivia Adamson, Emma Ward and Emma Tyrrell.

“For us, it was kind of an up-and-down game,” Treanor said. “I think we can certainly play a little better than we did tonight. But there were some bright spots.”

The Orange started on the wrong foot, losing the first two draw controls of the game and allowing the Great Danes to score on a goal from Courtney Rowe. Following the second lost draw control, UAlbany worked the ball around the 12-meter for over a minute before Coco Vandiver forced a turnover.

On the other end, Natalie Smith tied the game, picking up where she left off Saturday when she tallied three fourth-quarter goals. Emma Muchnick and Tyrrell added a goal to stretch the lead to 3-1. A slow start — relative to its last performance — still had SU up by two halfway through the first quarter.

After losing their fourth draw in five attempts, the Orange defense got the ball back on a caused turnover by Kaci Benoit. But on the clear attempt, Vandiver’s pass flew just over the extended stick of Smith, allowing Katie Pascale to scoop the ball up, sprint down the middle of the field and dish to Kloey Roos for an easy finish.

The Orange added on through the end of the first quarter on two goals from Adamson and a forced shot clock violation that Ward turned into a goal.

But the sloppy quarter continued. Kate Mashewske rebounded in the draw circle, helping Smith get the draw control before she got one of her own. But on the second Mashewske win, she threw the ball into traffic, immediately turning it over. SU’s defense made the stop before bringing the ball to the offensive zone and winding down the clock, taking a 6-2 lead into the first break.

Tyrrell opened the scoring in the second quarter after a stalemate through the first few minutes. UAlbany was strong on the draw again but didn’t capitalize as it was held out of the net for 11:51 between the end of the first and middle of the second quarter.

The drought was largely because of the Orange defense locking down Pascale. The Baldwinsville native — who entered the game as UAlbany’s leading scorer with 23 goals and 43 points — was held out of the net for over 19 minutes of play. Benoit often shadowed her on the corner of the 12-meter while Katie Goodale and Bianca Chevarie guarded her at X.

SU has made a trend of locking down top options this year, holding UNC’s Ashley Humphrey to zero points Saturday after entering the game with 39. Though Pascale finished the game with three goals, she tallied just one in the first half, allowing the Orange to garner a 12-5 lead at the break.

Goodale credited SU’s recent success against opponents’ top attacks to the Orange’s practices led by assistant coach Caitlin Defliese Watkins. Defliese Watkins sets up a scout offense that mimics the upcoming opponent. Goodale said freshman Izzy Lahah has been a key player on the scout team that has prepared the unit.

Pacsale’s first goal and a goal from Grace McCauley cut the deficit to just three midway through the second quarter. But with every UAlbany run, the Orange answered. This time, it was Muchnick then Ward, who both tallied their second goals and moved the lead back to five for Syracuse. Payton Rowley and Joely Caramelli each had their first goal of the afternoon and Tyrrell tallied a hat trick to complete a 5-0 run and push the once three-goal lead to eight.

An Ava Poupard goal to close the half gave the Orange a seven-goal lead. For the second straight game, Syracuse tallied eight different goal scorers.

“They’re very dynamic,” UAlbany head coach Katie Thomson said of SU’s offense. “They’re all such high-powered threats on the field and are opportunistic.”

Though, the struggle on the draw continued into the second half. The Great Danes won the first, but quickly turned the ball at the edge of the goalie crease with pressure from Delaney Sweitzer and Vandiver. Maddy Baxter — SU’s eighth goal scorer of the day — made UAlbany pay quickly, charging down the field to score. Baxter scored again minutes later but not before the Great Danes tallied two of their own.

Midway through the third quarter, Treanor substituted Mashewske for Adamson in the draw control circle. Adamson won five of the final six draws in the quarter. A late 3-0 run — boosted by improvements on the draw — gave SU a nine-goal lead, its largest up to that point.

“I thought Olivia was just really competitive tonight and something that we needed out of her,” Treanor said.

Syracuse added three in the fourth quarter, capturing its third straight win and mounting its largest win streak of the season. Though it wasn’t their best, most complete performance, the Orange dominated from start to finish versus the Great Danes, not losing a single quarter.

“It was a good midweek game for us. An important win for RPI (rating percentage index) and then we turn around and have a big game this weekend,” Treanor said.

Published on March 19, 2024 at 5:57 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky