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In Syracuse’s three games in Charlotte, it won the draw battle by a combined 71.6% rate.

Despite falling flat in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game, Syracuse’s draw unit established itself as the cream of the crop. In their tournament run, the Orange dominated the first two games. In the first half of the championship game, SU continued its success, winning 11 of the first 14 in the circle.

But eventually, Boston College figured out the formula for breaking Syracuse’s commanding approach of obtaining possession. If Kate Mashewske flipped it to herself, the Eagles immediately pressured with two on the ball, resulting in Syracuse’s strong unit becoming a non-factor. With BC’s new approach and explosive man defense, SU was outscored 8-1 in the final 30 minutes despite a 7-4 advantage in the circle in the second half.

“They played with their heart and their soul and we asked them to do that,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said of her team on ACC Network postgame. “Diving after plays, it’s going to take all of that to beat Syracuse.”

The draw unit began as a work in progress for the Orange this season. With Mashewske coming off a season-ending lower-body injury in 2023, the unit lost 24-of-37 draws in the season opener against No. 1 Northwestern. Though following their poor performance against the Wildcats, the Orange lost the draw battle just three of their final 15 regular season games.

Entering the conference tournament, Mashewske and the unit were playing as well as they had all season. In the final five regular season games, the unit won the advantage by an average of 10.6 per game. Mashewske recorded double digits in all but one of the final five games.

“Kate is really starting to hit her stride and play well and put together consecutive games of just dominating the draws,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said on April 5. “We need her to continue to do that for us to be successful.”

It was an obvious advantage going into the tournament: dominate the draw and the rest of the team would follow suit.

Against No. 9 seed Louisville in the quarterfinal, it worked like a charm. The Cardinals entered the game fresh off their first-ever ACC tournament win, a 13-11 victory over Virginia Tech. Though U-of-L didn’t trail for the final 54 minutes of play, it was dominated in the circle by the Hokies, losing the battle 19-9.

With Mashewske and SU coming in hot and Louisville struggling, Syracuse quickly took advantage. The Orange won four straight in the first quarter and won the overall mark 18-11 with Mashewske tallying a game-high 15.

Louisville started the game with Madi McKee in the circle but quickly shifted to Cali Bishop. Bishop caused a few ground ball scrums early on, but Mashewske eventually gained a rhythm. The Cardinals then went back and forth between McKee and Bishop to break the rhythm, but it didn’t help much as Mashewske had her way.

While Mashewske executed as the specialist in the center, Katie Goodale, Natalie Smith and Emma Muchnick were effective off the ball on the wings, boxing out and giving Mashewske time to operate.

After a nine-goal win over the Cardinals, a semifinal matchup with No. 5 seed Virginia awaited. In a tight battle on the draw in their quarterfinal game against No. 4 seed North Carolina, the Cavaliers won the battle by one. But Syracuse had their number earlier in the season.

In the regular season matchup on March 23, Mashewske set a season-high with 18 draw controls, helping SU win 21-12 in the circle in a one-goal victory. UVA had performed even worse down the stretch, entering the game dead last in the ACC in draws per game with 12.72 compared to Syracuse’s 16.76 mark.

Just as Louisville had done, Virginia fluctuated between multiple options to get past Mashewske. Kate Galica and Kiki Shaw switched in and out but Mashewske had success flipping the ball to herself regardless of the opponent. At one point, SU won 12 straight and didn’t lose one in the second quarter, prompting UVA head coach Sonia LaMonica to call for a stick check. Still, Mashewske won 16 total and helped SU to a 22-3 advantage.

“Kate is the best draw-taker in the whole country,” Treanor said postgame. “She’s elite. She has an intensity about her that is unmatched.”

Fernanda Kligerman | Design Editor

But then came Boston College. The Eagles weren’t as strong on the draw as Syracuse — 15.00 draws per game as opposed to 17.11 — but made up for it with relentless pursuit on ground balls and caused turnovers.

Ryan Smith took the first seven before being substituted for Abbey Herod the rest of the way. Mashewske totaled 12 while no one on Boston College totaled more than four. Syracuse won the battle 18-9 and totaled nine straight wins across the first and second quarters. But the totals didn’t matter as SU couldn’t cash in on the possessions Mashewske won. On its first 11 draw control wins, Syracuse only scored three times.

When Mashewske won, she faced immediate pressure. She often flipped the ball over the entirety of the defense back to goalie Delaney Sweitzer to alleviate BC’s constant pestering.

After winning the final two of the first half, BC’s pursuit was on full display with the game tied 7-7 to open the second half. Mashewske flipped the draw to herself but was quickly pressured by BC’s Cassidy Weeks, while Sydney Scales cut off the passing lane to Emma Tyrrell. Mashewske turned around to look for an opening but was then doubled with Belle Smith applying added pressure. She was stripped of the ball, giving possession to the BC attack and setting the tone for the rest of the half.

The formula was then replicated throughout the final 30 minutes. No matter how many times Mashewske won the draw, BC’s man defense asserted itself to cause turnovers and not allow Syracuse to run offensive sets comfortably. The Syracuse offense, which scored 36 goals in the first two tournament games combined and seven in the first half, was held to just one across the final 35 minutes of play.

And while the unit emerged as among the top tier in the nation through its three tournament performances, the Eagles proved that even when Mashewske and SU are clicking in the circle, Syracuse isn’t invincible.

Published on April 30, 2024 at 11:37 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky