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ITHACA, N.Y. — Following a loss to then-No. 15 Stony Brook on March 5 Syracuse stood at 3-3. Since then it’s been one of the best teams in Division I, winning six straight games while averaging 18 goals per game.

Across its winning streak, the Orange defeated three top-10 teams (North Carolina, Virginia, Loyola Maryland) and has won three by at least double digits (Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Louisville).

Though the biggest difference between the start of the season and now is the Orange’s ability to pull out close games. In two of its three losses, Syracuse fell in overtime. But against Virginia on March 23, it pulled out a come-from-behind win while it held off Loyola Maryland in a back-and-forth contest on March 27.

For their last non-conference game of the season, the Orange traveled to Schoellkopf Field to face Cornell. The Big Red carried a two-game winning streak into the contest following wins over Colgate and Jacksonville University, but were 0-2 against ranked teams, falling to then-No. 15 Virginia on Feb. 25 and then-No. 18 Princeton on March 23. Cornell’s struggles against ranked teams continued Tuesday, as SU dominated in wire-to-wire fashion.

Here are some observations from No. 3 Syracuse’s (10-3, 6-0 Atlantic Coast) 17-4 win over Cornell (7-4, 2-1 Ivy League):

Turnovers early and often

On a rainy day in Ithaca at the outdoor Schoellkopf Field, the weather played a role in Syracuse and Cornell’s matchup. Following Emma Tyrrell’s first of four goals 18 seconds into the game, Cornell won the ensuing draw and worked its way down the field. After SU’s Delaney Sweitzer notched her first save, The Big Red pulled in the rebound, but Kylie Gelabert quickly lost possession. This led to Tyrrell netting her second goal.

Though Kate Mashewske won the ensuing draw control, she immediately turned the ball over, but 14 seconds late Kaci Benoit caused Cornell’s Hilary Hoover to give the ball right back. Syracuse didn’t take advantage of the turnover, but when Cornell’s Gelabert mishandled the ball, it led the Orange to push the ball down the field and for Savannah Sweitzer to give them a 3-0 lead.

It wasn’t just the Big Red who struggled possessing the ball. Despite Emma Muchnick controlling the next draw, Joely Caramelli quickly turned the ball over and once SU re-gained possession after a foul from the Big Red’s Sophie Ward, Emma Ward misfired a pass. On the other end, Alexa Donahoe capitalized, scoring Cornell’s first goal.

Throughout the first quarter, which the Orange outscored the Big Red 5-1, Syracuse turned the ball over six times while Cornell gave it up five times. Throughout the game, turnovers continued to pile up. Syracuse turned the ball over a season-high 19 times while the Big Red contributed 15 turnovers.

Spreading the wealth

A consistent theme of Syracuse’s season thus far has been its offensive versatility. After Tyrrell scored three of the Orange’s first four goals, it opened up room for everyone else to rack up goals. With SU leading 4-1, Meghan Rode controlled the ball along the right side of the field before darting near the crease and scoring. Then, Maddy Baxter — who scored a career-high five goals against Virginia — scored her first, extending Syracuse’s lead to 6-1.

While Cornell’s Josie Vogel scored at the 9:01 mark of the second quarter, it was the Big Red’s only goal of the period. From there, the Orange closed the half on a 5-0 run with four different players netting goals. After scooping a ground ball off a deflection from Cornell goalie Ellie Horner, Olivia Adamson fired an uncontested goal giving Syracuse a 7-2 lead. Adamson, SU’s leading goal scorer, was held scoreless for the first time this season last time out versus Loyola.

Less than a minute later, Payton Rowley finished through contact near the cage scoring despite a foul on Cornell. Because of the foul, Syracuse was given the ball instead of an ensuing draw control, and Emma Ward became its seventh goal scorer. Throughout the first half, Ward was often bottled up at X, but she took advantage of SU’s man-up opportunity. To close the half, Tyrrell scored her fourth goal of the game, giving the Orange an 11-2 lead.

In the second half, Emma Muchnick scored three of SU’s six goals, becoming its eight goal scorer. Against Army, UAlbany and Lousiville, Syracuse also had eight different players score, a season-high mark.

Constintecy in the circle

Returning from a season-ending 2023 knee injury, Syracuse draw control specialist Kate Mashewske has had ups and downs throughout 2024. There have been highlights like controlling a season-high 18 draws in Syracuse’s win over Virginia. But there have also been low lights, like when Northwestern dominated the circle in the season opener.

Yet against Cornell, Mashewske — Syracuse’s all-time leader in draw controls — dominated from start to finish. On the game’s opening draw, Mashewske flicked the ball up to herself before dishing to Tyrrell. From there, Tyrrell did the rest of the work, maneuvering her way near the 8-meter before drawing a shooting space penalty and scoring on a free position shot.

Cornell won the ensuing draw, but that was the only one it controlled throughout the first half, as Mashewske and Co. won the next 12. Though the Big Red controlled the opening draw of the second half, Mashewske responded by winning her ninth of a game-high 12 draws, which led to Sweitzer scoring to give the Orange a 12-3 lead.

Throughout the second half, Syracuse continued dominating in the circle, finishing the game winning 20-of-24 draws.

Delaney Sweitzer shines

In 2023, Delaney Sweitzer was unstoppable. Posting a 50.5% save percentage, she won IWLCA and ACC Goalie of the Year honors. Yet, as a graduate student in 2024, she’s taken a noticeable step back.

Across four games from March 16-24, Sweitzer saved less than 40% of shots in each game — which never happened last season. Against Loyola, she saved a season-low 23.5% of shots, as her save percentage sat at just 39.0% entering Tuesday’s game.

Following a 50.0% save percentage in SU’s last game versus Louisville, Sweitzer built off of one of her better performances of the season. Following Tyrrell’s opening goal, Gelabert controlled the ball along the right side of the 12-meter before making a move toward the cage. But Sweitzer adjusted her positioning in the cage and slid over to block the shot.

Throughout the first half, Sweitzer allowed just two goals and continued her dominance in the second half. In the third quarter, she thwarted three consecutive Cornell trips down the field fending off shots from Dillyn Patten, Vogel and Gelabert.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Daniella Guyette replaced Sweitzer in net with the Orange leading 15-4. Sweitzer ended the game saving 8-of-12 of the Big Red’s shots, as her 66.7% save percentage was a season-best.

Published on April 2, 2024 at 5:54 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon