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The Orange came into their Atlantic Coast Conference opener off a 17-10 win over Binghamton, a game where they led by as much as 13. Before that, Syracuse secured two top-five wins in the season’s first two games.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is a program in just its second year of collegiate competition. It’s still building its program in “the best conference in college lacrosse,” Meaghan Tyrrell said before the game. But Pittsburgh goalie Hannah Van Middelem wasn’t a stranger to the Orange — she played at SU for four seasons.

Here’s some observations from No. 2 Syracuse’s (4-0, 1-0 ACC) 16-4 win over Pittsburgh (2-2, 0-1 ACC).

Mashewske sets the tone

The game’s first three draws all led to goals. Syracuse’s Kate Mashewske won them all, giving SU a 3-0 lead.

After Natalie Smith’s free-position score, Mashewske was back in the draw circle at 13:52 in the first. She won control quickly, passed the rock and took off down the field.

In transition, Meaghan received the ball behind the cage, and saw Mashewske flying down the middle. Meaghan sent a soft feed inside, and Mashewske slammed it home. She scored within 10 seconds of winning the draw, giving Syracuse a 2-0 lead before Pitt even secured a possession.

As the first quarter wound down, Kate won another draw, tossing it up to herself with momentum toward Pitt’s goal. The Syracuse offense had another transition opportunity. Mashewske sprinted ahead and passed to Megan Carney, cutting inside the 12-meter. She spun left past her defender, and sent a left shot across the goal and in to give SU a 6-1 lead.

With two points in the first, Mashewske tied her season total in points last season in just one quarter. And by the end of the game, Syracuse led 15-8 in draw controls in a commanding victory.

Scoring dominance and diversity

At halftime, Syracuse led in shots (30-10), saves (7-1) and draws (12-4) en route to a 12-2 lead.

Syracuse knew how to attack Van Middelem in goal coming in – playing against her in practice for multiple years armed the Orange’s veterans for the matchup. While she never started for Syracuse, practice reps against her were still clear memories for many SU players.

The Orange proved just how valuable that knowledge of Pitt’s goalie was, as they scored from all over the field. Syracuse used everything from crease rolls to slinging shots from the 8-meter to score on Van Middelem, and it worked.

Meaghan and the Orange used the crease roll to great effect against then-No. 2 Maryland, edging around defenders from the X to get point-blank shots outside the crease. Today, early success at the crease led to diversified scoring types throughout the conference matchup.

To start the second quarter, Sierra Cockerille controlled the ball at the X. With a defender in front, she dipped her left shoulder to get around the circle, then slung a sidearm shot into the net as Syracuse took a 7-2 lead.

Carney’s carnage

With four goals in the game’s first 20 minutes, Carney has scored at least four goals in every game this season. But while the graduate attack usually makes her mark near the crease, she diversified the scoring today with some outside shots as well.

On a free-position score, Megan Carney shuffled once and then whipped an overhead shot from the wing of the 8-meter into the top left corner of the net. Later, in the second quarter, Adamson dodged to the middle, then passed back to Carney — who blistered a shot past Hannah Van Middelem in goal — at the top of the arc.

These outside scores both came early in the game, but that persisted throughout the matchup from multiple Orange players. Carney also scored twice at the crease, continuing to showcase elite cutting ability and transition scoring. Going into the half, Carney had a game-high four goals and points.

In the second half, Carney didn’t get on the stat sheet, as Syracuse slowed down the offensive pace, but she still led the Orange in goals by the end of the contest.

Defense to offense

Syracuse only let Pittsburgh shoot one uncontested shot inside the 8-meter, a third-quarter goal from Sydney Naylor. But that stout defense did more than keep the lead for Syracuse — it translated into more offense.

Cockerille disrupted a pass intended for Kara Trullender, and sprinted into open grass with the rock in her stick. Uncontested all the way, Cockerille went coast-to-coast, all the way into the opponent’s 8-meter. Before defenders could catch her, Cockerille shot sidearm over Van Middelem’s head. That moved the SU lead to 14-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

Earlier in the third quarter, Syracuse turned the ball over in enemy territory in transition. But not giving up on the play, Emma Ward picked the pocket of Pitt’s ball carrier to get SU the ball back before the Panthers’ possession even started.

After an errant shot on the ensuing possession, Ward took possession from the X and bided her time drifting right. But then cut inside, received a pass in front of the net and slammed it down into the net. Yet again, the Orange defense turned into offense.

Published on February 25, 2023 at 2:18 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu