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On Wednesday night, Syracuse took the field as the No. 1 team in the nation after four weeks at No. 2. SU is coming off three straight ranked wins, including victories over two Atlantic Coast Conference teams, to secure the best start in program history.

Syracuse leads the league in offensive efficiency, shot percentage and assists heading into its fourth straight ranked matchup with No. 6 Stony Brook.

Here are some observations from No. 1 Syracuse’s (10-0, 4-0 ACC) 16-11 win over Stony Brook (5-2, 1-0 Colonial Athletic):

Morgan Mitchell causes early mayhem

Morgan Mitchell scored four of the Seawolves’ five first-quarter points. She also scored five of the first six goals and six of the first eight, setting her career-high in goals in just over minutes of play. She finished the game with seven goals, which is the most SU has allowed to a single player all season.

On the game’s first possession, she scored in 43 seconds. A cutter from the left side cleared the way for Mitchell, who crashed an open middle of the zone, received a pass from Jaden Hampel and scored at the crease.

Not two minutes later, and on the very next Stony Brook possession, she scored again on a similar play. Mitchell got a pass after cutting from the top of the zone, but took a spill as she slammed the ball off the turf from just outside the crease. The play was reviewed for a few minutes before it was ruled that she was, indeed, outside the crease and the Seawolves took a 2-0 lead at 12:53.

Her next score made it 4-3 Stony Brook, as she cut in once again, taking the pass and shooting in one fluid motion outside the crease. This time, the feed came from Kailyn Hart at the right of the goal. Then, she started off the scoring in the second quarter as well. It was an absolute one-woman clinic for the first 16 minutes of play.

X marks Emma Ward’s spot

Emma Ward connected on multiple assists from the X, sometimes under some heavy pressure. She ended the game with seven assists, tying her career high.

With five minutes gone in the first, Ward meandered to the X from the left side of the fan, and she saw Emma Tyrell had carved out a place in the zone, waiting for a pass. Ward, who specializes in creating at the X, passed high and Emma spiked it through the legs of the goalie to make it 3-2 Seawolves.

With under four minutes left in the half, Ward made two straight assists from the X. Multiple defenders converged on her, so she quickly threaded the needle between two Stony Brook players in front of the net. Megan Carney leaped up to grab it, then fired when as soon as her feet hit the ground, giving Syracuse a 9-8 lead, its first of the game.

Two minutes later, This time going to her right, Ward looked left but then quickly fired high to Emma across her body, who had an open net in front of her to make it 10-8 SU with 1:38 remaining.

She started the second-half scoring with an assist from the X as well. After getting a pass from the right side, she immediately spotted Carney, and hit her with a high pass to set up Carney’s fifth goal of the game.

4-0 run to end the first half

Ward, Maddy Baxter and Carney all scored multiple points during the 4-0 run. Ward assisted on three straight scores, Baxter scored and assisted once and Carney, unsurprisingly, scored twice.

A connection from Baxter to Carney began the run and tied the game 8-8. Baxter patrolled the left side looking for a feed when Carney stopped in front of her, creating just enough space to cradle the pass uncontested. Then, she spun on one foot and leapt into the air, whipping the ball into the top right corner in the process. Less than 90 seconds later, she scored again on the assist from Ward at the X.

Then, with under 10 seconds left in the half, Ward got a free position from behind the fan on the right – not the X, but close. She immediately sent a sidearm pass high into the stick of Baxter, who, with three people converging on her, swiped down for the score. Syracuse took an 11-8 lead into halftime after trailing for most of the first 25 minutes of play.

From that point on, Syracuse never trailed and only added to its lead.

Winning the draw without Mashewske

After Kate Mashewske went down with a lower body injury and was ruled out for the season, Olivia Adamson stepped in as the main draw taker. Against Loyola and Duke, Syracuse lost the draw 5-14 and 12-17, respectively.

But Adamson took every draw against the Seawolves, and Syracuse won 21-10 at the circle. It was SU’s second largest draw discrepancy of the season, even with Mashewske on the field. Adamson collected 12 on her own, which is her most of the season, showing a much improved ability to control her own draw. Apart from her, Sierra Cockerille had four draw controls, while Emma had three and Katie Goodale collected two.

The extra possessions led to more Syracuse offense, as they outshot the Seawolves 9-3 in the third quarter and 32-25 in the game. The draw controls also set up some transition opportunities, which has been a strength for Syracuse all season long.

Published on March 22, 2023 at 10:30 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu