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Knotted at 3-3 with a minute remaining in the first half, Syracuse found its rhythm.

After clearing the ball, the Orange set up their offense with a pass to Meaghan Tyrrell at the corner of the 8-meter. She immediately split two James Madison defenders with a pin-point pass to Olivia Adamson at the edge of the crease, and Adamson netted it to give SU a 4-3 lead.

With 28 seconds left, Adamson won another draw before a JMU slashing penalty gifted Sierra Cockerille a free position shot. Charging in from the right, Cockerille took three steps toward Kat Buchanan and finished high to take a two-goal advantage.

In every game throughout the postseason, Syracuse’s (17-2, 8-0 Atlantic Coast) offense has started slow. Today was no exception as a defensive war between the two sides waged on throughout the first half. Then, after jumping out to an early lead, JMU (19-3, 6-0 American Athletic) went scoreless for over 20 minutes. In response, a quick two-goal spurt to end the opening half propelled the Orange to a 13-7 victory. The win granted Syracuse a trip to Championship Weekend in Cary, North Carolina, next Friday, for the second time in three seasons.

Adamson “put the team on her back” in the final minutes of the opening quarter, according to head coach Kayla Treanor. While winning all four draws for Syracuse in the first, Adamson added two goals in just over a minute to get Syracuse on the board before giving it the lead.

After a few failed dodges and errant shots, Adamson received a pass from X and drove down a wide open lane on the right. She took advantage of the marking mishap and scored into the close corner, tying the game at one with 1:59 left in the first.

On the ensuing draw, Adamson won possession following a JMU penalty at the draw. Passing around the zone, Natalie Smith cradled the ball up top and dodged right, scanning inside to find Adamson at the mouth of the crease. While turning to collect, Adamson placed the high pass right over Buchanan’s head to give Syracuse its first lead. The attacker earned a first-half hat trick later and finished with a team-high six-points.

Early on, Syracuse had no problem getting shots off, but it just couldn’t finish. SU totaled six more attempts than JMU in the first, three of which were denied by Buchanan’s acrobatics in goal.

Midway through the first, Adamson fired from the right but Buchanan dropped into a split with her left leg outstretched, snatching the ball with her stick. The Dukes’ goalie finished with nine saves to keep the two teams close.

Yet, the Orange’s defense was even more stifling. They caused 18 turnovers and held the country’s leading goal-scorer, Isabella Peterson, to two goals on six shots. JMU’s seven points were the least allowed by SU since its blowout victory over Louisville on Mar. 25.

“Our defense was outstanding today, probably their best game of the year,” Treanor said. “Defense wins championships, and the defense came ready to play today.”

Constantly switching, heavy pressure and an onslaught of turnovers played a hand in shifting momentum to Syracuse at the end of the first half.

In the third, JMU came fast out of the opening draw, but Taylor Marchetti lost it in transition. Superia Clark came out of the pile with the ball, and Maddy Baxter controlled the transition offense. Moving upfield, Baxter reached the middle of an unset Dukes zone, kept her stick high before finishing across her body to open up a 6-3 Orange advantage.

“We had a game plan for them,” Carney said. “One of our goals was to get them to switch out of their zone and we did that.”

Four minutes later, Emma Ward notched her first goal of the game with 10:01 remaining in the game. Buchanan left her post to try to corral a ground ball, but Adamson got there first. She found Ward in front of the cage, who wound up and fired through a sea of purple, increasing Syracuse’s lead.

“We have so many threats, it’s impossible to cover all seven of us,” Adamson said.

Buchanan finished the game with nine saves, and was the primary reason that James Madison stayed competitive. For Syracuse, Delaney Sweitzer was under less pressure but made some integral saves.

During JMU’s 23-minute scoreless streak in the first half, the Dukes’ Tai Jankowski faked a high shot, but Sweitzer didn’t bite. She fell to the turf for the save and took it out of the goal herself to clear it. Sweitzer has been a catalyst for Syracuse in transition all season, and she continued that trend today.

The Dukes won the opening fourth-quarter draw and took off in transition, just like they did in the third. Jankowski decided to test Sweitzer low again, but the SU keeper dropped her left knee to parry the oncoming shot.

On the ensuing possession, Ward connected with Emma Tyrrell cutting from left to right, and Emma scored her first goal of the game, making it 9-5 Syracuse. The Orange’s lead would only grow from there as Adamson netted her fourth and final goal of the day.

With 2:12 in the fourth, Ward assisted Megan Carney for the dagger. SU played hot potato on the outside before Ward collected on the left and whipped it behind her head to Carney outside the crease. Carney cradled the ball and scored on a behind-the-head release in one motion.

That goal made it 13-7 for the Orange, who will play Boston College in the Final Four.

“I’m just really excited…” Carney said before tearing up when asked about playing in Championship Weekend again. “Next question,” she added with a smile.

Published on May 18, 2023 at 3:28 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu