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After Katie Goodale won a draw-control late in the second quarter, Sierra Cockerille scooped up the ball and ran straight towards the net before taking a shot. It bounced off Cornell’s Mackenzie Clark and fell way to the right of the goal. Cockerille hustled over and dug up the ground ball, then sprinted towards the right post.

She looked towards the 8-meter arc like she was going to pass it, forcing the Cornell defense to back off in anticipation. Then, Cockerille proceeded to turn around and launch a shot into the top right of the goal. Clark was slow to react after Cockerille’s look-off and the ball ricocheted off the post and past her for a goal. The Orange now led 9-4.

Syracuse (12-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) had their most unassisted goals in a game all season en route to their 19-13 win over Cornell (6-4, 2-1 Ivy League). This comes as the Orange entered Tuesday leading the nation in assists with 110. Eight players scored without a set up — only two of which were on free positions.

“The players feel confident that they can beat their matchups,” head coach Kayla Treanor said. “We want to show that we can play that way as well.”

Scoring started early as Emma Tyrrell netted the first goal of the day just a minute into the game. She was handling the ball behind the left side of the net and drew a one-on-one opportunity. She came up around the left post, and with her back to the net, faked left before turning around to her right.

This created a very narrow angle as she was nearly parallel with the crossbar. It didn’t matter. Emma held the stick above her right shoulder and whipped it down towards the bottom corner of the goal. Her attempt bounced in to put the Orange up early.

Olivia Adamson scored the next goal off a free position. She charged in from the right side, stick up in the air, and shot it in between the goalkeepers legs for another unassisted score.

Halfway through the first, Emma Ward was also set up behind the net, rounding the left post. She got in front of the net, but then changed direction and went back towards the post. Holding her stick high in the air, she shot it hard on the turf — similar to Emma Tyrrell’s opening score — to convert.

Tessa Queri got in on the action with a little over a minute left in the quarter, but it unfolded a lot differently than both Ward and Emma’s goals. Cornell goalkeeper Ellie Horner saved a Savannah Sweitzer shot that parried off of her and fell to the ground. Queri picked it up right in front of the left post and put it past Horner to extend the lead to 7-1.

Meaghan Tyrrell started jumpstarted SU’s offense in the second half with an unassisted score. She had the ball at the top right of the 12 meter and drove in diagonally towards the net. She reached backwards as she got closer to the goal and fit it into the top right corner. After the game, Meaghan explained how she reads the defense to decide whether to pass it or keep it herself in those situations.

“If there’s a slide coming, that may change whether I keep going or look for the feed,” Meaghan said.

Twenty seconds later, another unassisted goal came. Natalie Smith scooped up a ground ball in the middle of the Cornell zone and ran fearlessly past the 12 meter arc towards the goal. With Chloe Master tailing her, Smith rocketed a shot to the top left of the goal, shooting as she faded to her right.

Late in the fourth period, freshman Gracie Britton scored on a free position chance for the second goal of her Orange career and SU’s last unassisted goal of the night.

Treanor takes pride in the fact that her team leads the nation in assists, but she still thinks some players should go to the net and not dish it to a teammate.

“I do think sometimes they were a little too unselfish,” Treanor said. “We were saying to some players that you need to shoot. A couple of times on 8-meters, they were making a pass that I really thought they should’ve shot. They’ve got to be ready when they have the opportunity.”

Published on March 28, 2023 at 10:47 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu