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After Syracuse’s opening-day thriller against then-No. 4 Northwestern, the Orange will welcome another No. 2 Maryland into the JMA Wireless Dome.

Syracuse scraped a victory over the Wildcats with two lead-taking assists by Meaghan Tyrrell in the fourth quarter. She then scored unassisted with 1:10 remaining to plant the dagger in the Wildcats, who sent the Orange home in the NCAA Tournament last year. SU won 16-15 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal rematch.

Here’s everything to know before Friday’s game against the Terrapins, a team that SU has historically struggled against:

All-time series:

Maryland leads, 23-2.

Last time they played

Despite little success historically, Syracuse shut out then-No. 9 Maryland in the first half en route to a 10-5 victory in 2020. Emily Hawryschuk tied the Terrapins in goals on her own, scoring five and assisting once, while Meaghan scored twice in the SU victory.

It wasn’t stress-free, however, as the Terrapins surged to start the second half, smashing the margin to one with 13:30 remaining. But four unanswered goals by the Orange, two from Hawryschuk and one each from Sam Swart and Megan Carney, sent Maryland packing on its home field. Syracuse kept Maryland’s leading scorer that season, Kali Hartshorn, scoreless on two shot attempts.

SU moved to 6-1, but after its win against Virginia Tech the next week, the season was canceled due to COVID-19.

The Terrapins report

Last season, Maryland ranked eighth in the nation in both scoring offense second and scoring defense, while Syracuse ranked 14th and 38th, respectively. However, Aurora Cordingley, whose 118 points ranked fourth in the nation and beat out Meaghan’s 111 points, graduated last spring.

Yet five Maryland players — two defenders, two attacks and a goalie — made this year’s Tewaaraton Award watch list: Abby Bosco, Marge Donovan, Libby May, Hannah Leubecker and Emily Sterling. This beat out Syracuse’s four selections, tied with a few others, for the most on the list.

May and Leubecker ranked second and third in points for Maryland, while Bosco ranked first in caused turnovers with 26. Donovan transferred from Princeton as a graduate student, where she led the team in draw controls (112) and caused turnovers (32).

A heart-breaking, last-second goal by Boston College’s Cassidy Weeks sent the Terrapins home last season in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. It was just their second loss after 19 wins.

The Terrapins are the most successful franchise in NCAA women’s lacrosse history. They have 14 national championships, one as recent as 2019, as well as seven straight from 1995-2001. This year, a rejuvenated Terrapins team comes into the Dome off a 15-5 onslaught of Saint Joseph’s. Head coach Kayla Treanor said that people called her “crazy” for choosing to start the season against two top-five opponents.

How Syracuse beats Maryland

Syracuse will need to control the draw better than it did last week to beat Maryland. The Wildcats kept it close by winning the draw 23-11, which led to more scoring opportunities. NU had six more shots and four more shots on goal than the Orange in the loss.

Senior Kate Mashewske, a member of the Tewaaraton Award watch list, took most of the draws for Syracuse last week, winning five. But the Wildcats mixed it up, with four different players taking the draw to much avail. All four had at least three draw controls for NU.

However, the reason SU won its last game is how it can win this one: by highlighting the newly healthy players around Meaghan. After the game, Treanor said the team’s “biggest focus” has been getting healthy. Syracuse returns Emma Tyrrell, Emma Ward and Sierra Cockerille from season-ending injuries last year, something that hurt it down the stretch.

On Saturday, Emma (four points and three goals) and namesake Ward (five points and two goals) were second and third in points, respectively, for the Orange. They prevailed by highlighting returning players and a splash of selflessness from Meaghan. SU will need to do the same against a complete Maryland team, who will surely face guard Meaghan as the Wildcats did.

Stat to know: 7.81

Last season, Maryland allowed just 7.81 goals per game in its 19-2 season and its goalie, Sterling, ranked second in the nation in save percentage (.531). Opponents were held to single digits in all but three games, including the NCAA Tournament loss to BC, by an elite Maryland defense.

Player to watch: Libby May

May made the 2022 All-Big Ten Tournament team after scoring nine points in two games against Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. She also ranked second on the team in goals as a junior and helped the Terrapins to the semifinals. She scored at least three goals in all three NCAA Tournament games, totaling 19 points, and will lead the offense again versus Syracuse.

Published on February 15, 2023 at 9:38 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu