Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse showed on Sunday why it has been a top team in the nation throughout the 2023 season, as the No. 2 seed ‘Cuse picked up a convincing 25-8 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Johns Hopkins University.
The Orange, playing at home, quickly got a man-up as soon as Olivia Adamson got the draw control when Annie Marshall got a yellow card. Less than a minute into the man-up, Syracuse’s Meag-to-Meg connection would show its prowess as Megan Carney would find the back of the net after the feed from Meaghan Tyrrell to make it 1-0.
After Carney scored, she assisted on a goal from Sierra Cockerille just 29 seconds later and ‘Cuse looked like it was going to dominate early. However, JHU was able to answer back with two quick goals by star attackers Ava Angello and Ashley Mackin.
Early on in the first quarter, the Syracuse Orange was having trouble clearing as it was missing a lot of passes and JHU was playing suffocating defense. After going eight minutes without a goal, Emma Tyrrell was able to get three-straight goals at the end of the first quarter, and ‘Cuse was back in control, leading 5-2.
Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse has moved on to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
The Orange, as always, didn’t waste any time scoring in the second quarter as Meaghan Tyrrell found the back of the net with the assist from Adamson with 13:28 left in the half. Then the other Tyrrell sister, Emma, got her second goal of the game less than a minute later.
After a JHU goal from Jordan Carr, Natalie Smith answered with a goal of her own as ‘Cuse would not let JHU come any closer to the lead it had created earlier. The Syracuse Orange would get four more goals in the quarter as it finished the half with a 12-6 lead.
In the second half, saying the floodgates opened would be a huge understatement, because ‘Cuse would dominate the second half even more than it did the first. The Syracuse Orange would score five unanswered goals to start the half and would be on a 6-0 run that started in the second quarter.
Meaghan Tyrrell scored three-of-six goals in that stretch. ‘Cuse would go on to score eight goals in the third quarter and had a 21-7 lead heading into the final quarter. The Syracuse Orange would then score four more goals in the fourth quarter, including a goal with 10 seconds left from Payton Rowley.
Emma Tyrrell led all scorers in the game with seven goals and one assist, Meaghan Tyrrell had six goals with three assists, Smith had four goals and Carney had a hat trick. The one stat that really stood out was that the Tyrrell sisters combined for 17 points (13 goals, four assists) in leading ‘Cuse to this lopsided victory.
The Syracuse Orange will now play No. 7 seed James Madison on Thursday, May 18, at noon from the JMA Wireless Dome in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. This game will air on ESPNU.