No. 4 Orange Win Fourth Straight

Recap, photo courtesy of Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 4/4 Syracuse took an early lead and never looked back against yet another top-10 opponent, this time defeating No. 7/6 Virginia 16-11. The win marks the second time this season the Orange have defeated an opponent ranked in the top 10 and their third against a top-15 team in a span of seven days.

Syracuse featured a balanced attack, with six players scoring two goals or more. Junior Emily Hawryschuk led Orange scorers with four goals, while redshirt junior Mary Rahal tied her career high with five points off two goals and three assists.

"Beating three ranked opponents in seven days – I'm extremely happy," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. "We still have work to do and room to improve. That's what great teams do – they drive to improve and be their best."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse (6-1, 1-1) got off to a strong start, scoring back-to-back goals from Hawryschuk and Rahal, giving the 'Cuse a 2-0 lead just four minutes into the game. From there, it was back and forth with each team scoring four goals to push the score to 6-4 with 7:12 left in the first half.

Syracuse then went on a 4-1 scoring run, powered by goals from redshirt junior Cara Quimby and sophomore Sam Swart and two goals from senior Nicole Levy.  Syracuse headed to the locker room with a 10-5 lead.

The Orange kept their momentum in the second half with two more goals from Hawryschuk and senior Natalie Wallon, furthering the Syracuse's lead to 12-5. Virginia (5-1, 0-1) pushed back, scoring four of the next five goals, including a 3-0 run, to shrink the gap back to four goals with 13:40 left.

Freshman Meaghan Tyrrell found the back of the net to briefly halt the run, but the Cavaliers scored two more to set the score at 14-11 with 4:29 left. It was all 'Cuse from there, with freshman Megan Carney scoring with 3:02 on the clock and another insurance goal from Rahal with 33 seconds left to end the game with a 16-11 SU victory.

OF NOTE
Syracuse's defense forced plenty of extra possessions for Syracuse, as it led the Orange to 15 caused turnovers. Four players – junior Kerry Defliese, senior Alexa Radziewicz, freshman Sarah Cooper and Rahal – had three caused turnovers each. Juniors Vanessa Costatino and Lila Nazarian and Wallon each added one as well.

Syracuse has led in shots in each one of its victories this season. The Orange outshot the Cavaliers, 31-25.

UP NEXT
Syracuse begins a three-game road trip with a matchup against No. 2/2 Maryland on Saturday, March 9. The opening draw is set for noon.