No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse fights off No. 13 Stanford, opens season with 12-9 win

The Orange opened the 2022 season with a hard-fought win against a good Stanford team.

The Kayla Treanor era is officially underway for Syracuse as the No. 3 Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team defeated the No. 13 Stanford Cardinal on Friday night in the Carrier Dome, 12-9.

It wasn’t the prettiest performance you’ll ever see from the Orange, but they worked hard to fend off a hot goalie and eventually pull away in the fourth quarter. They improved as the game went on in all facets, especially the effort and execution of their young defense, and came away with a well-earned win in their first game.

Meaghan Tyrrell was the star on the day for Syracuse, scoring six goals to lead the offense. Younger sister Emma Tyrrell made it a strong night for the Tyrrell sisters, scoring two goals and two assists and doing very well in the ground ball game. Sam Swart added three assists, and Emily Hawryschuk and Meg Carney each scored a goal in their first games since suffering ACL tears last season.

The game started off the way you might expect in a first game of the season, as the Orange committed a handful of turnovers and had multiple instances of bad communication and movement on the defensive end that led to some easy looks for the Cardinal.

The Orange did start fast as freshman Olivia Adamson opened the scoring of both SU’s season and her own career as she took a flip from Sam Swart and rolled around the top of the defense to fire one home. But then, the defensive miscues set in, allowing Stanford to find multiple players wide open in front of goal as they took a 3-1 lead midway through the first.

Taking her first offensive run since returning from a torn ACL last April, Meg Carney came onto the field and ripped home a beautiful shot on the run. A few minutes later, Emma Tyrrell got on the board, switching hands on the run to tie the game up at 3-3.

After Stanford scored a pair to regain the lead at 5-3 early in the second quarter, Meaghan Tyrrell took over, scoring three straight goals to put ‘Cuse back on top for the first time since the opening goal. The Cardinal added a late goal to tie it up a sixes heading into the break.

The second half was controlled by SU for the most part, as the defense picked up after their slow first quarter and started limiting Stanford’s chances. The Orange scored the only two goals of the third quarter, both by the Tyrrell sisters. First, Emma scored off another Sam Swart flip assist courtesy of SU’s patented weave, followed by Maddy Baxter finding Meaghan wide open on the crease.

The Orange’s second half onslaught continued into the fourth, where Meaghan added her fifth and sixth goals on the day in exciting fashion. First, she split a double team from up top before firing one in, and then she finished as the final leg of a picture-perfect transition goal that came off a Stanford turnover.

Shortly after that, Emily Hawryschuk scored on a well-placed bouncer from a free-position opportunity for her first goal since tearing her ACL last February. Emily had a bit of a rough game to that point, so it had to feel extra good to get on the board like that.

Sierra Cockerille pushed SU’s lead up to its apex on the day when she faked a pass a rocketed one in to put the Orange up 12-7. Stanford added two goals after that, but by then it was far too late and ‘Cuse was able to ride out the clock to preserve the victory in the opening game.

The Orange have a quick turnaround this weekend as they play next on Sunday at 1PM against Binghamton in the Carrier Dome. The game is on ACC Network Extra, so maybe come check out some Orange fireworks in the afternoon ahead of the Super Bowl.