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On March 5, Syracuse women’s lacrosse reached rock bottom.

After already dropping two of its first five games, a nonconference bout with Stony Brook ended in a crushing overtime loss. SU draw specialist Kate Mashewske tallied just six controls and the Orange lost the opening draw in overtime as an 11-9 lead with seven minutes to play turned into a 13-12 defeat.

Despite dropping its third game of the season, it was a turning point. The Orange rattled off nine straight wins after falling to the Seawolves en route to the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

As fate would have it, following an opening-round bye for SU and a first-round win over Niagara for Stony Brook, the two sides matched up again in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the second rendition, Syracuse flipped the script. No. 3 Syracuse (15-5, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) used overall draw dominance (22-of-29) and Emma Tyrrell’s game-high five goals to breeze past No. 14 Stony Brook (18-3, 8-0 Coastal Athletic Association) 15-10.

“I think we were a much different team than the last time we played them,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said postgame. “It was really about us and the way we wanted to play.”

The commanding win pushed SU to its fourth national quarterfinal in a row, as Mashewske’s 20 draw controls were the most in a single game in program history, besting her mark against Louisville in 2022 and Treanor’s versus Loyola in 2016.

“I think Kate had one of the most dominant performances I have ever seen in an NCAA Tournament,” Treanor said.

Despite losing the opening draw due to a false start on Mashewske, SU’s defense thwarted Stony Brook’s opening possession. Bianca Chevarie caused a turnover at X before Olivia Adamson converted a free-position seconds later to put the Orange up 1-0.

Though just 13 seconds later Ellie Masera took advantage of another false start on Mashewske, sprinting with the ball down to the crease before quickly dishing to Kailyn Hart who finished the chance and tied the game.

Mashewske, who has tallied double-digit draw controls in eight of her last nine games, found her rhythm. Her first win led to Tyrrell’s first goal of the game at the 12:20 mark. Two minutes later, after Mashewske won her second draw, Emma Ward got on the board, dodging to the right and firing past Stony Brook’s Emily Manning in net.

Syracuse won another draw, but Maddy Baxter hit the post on a shot attempt and eventually fouled on a loose ball scrum. Hart scored on the other end to cut the Seawolves deficit to one.

The aggressive Stony Brook defense punished SU throughout the contest, striking players like Tyrrell and Smith hard to the ground. But both took advantage when fouled inside the 8-meter, converting on free position attempts to push Syracuse’s lead to 5-2.

“We kind of saw what went wrong the first go around with them,” Tyrrell told ESPN postgame. “So we really had a great game plan going into it.”

SU turned defense into offense to push the lead further toward the end of the opening quarter. Alex Finn took an underhand shot at the front of the crease, but Syracuse goalie Delaney Sweitzer thwarted the attempt. A long pass from Sweitzer to Kaci Benoit cleared the ball and quick ball movement from Adamson to Emma Muchnick capped a 6-2 opening frame for the Orange.

Mashewske’s dominance continued throughout the quarter, winning the final seven draw controls and helping Syracuse maintain possession. The Seawolves were held out of the net for the final eight minutes of the quarter.

The Orange continued to command the pace with Mashewske winning draws, but they began to turn the ball over.

First, Tyrrell missed a pass on a miscommunication. As SU’s defense shifted to lockdown Hart more, Masera was freed up. Masera entered the game leading the nation in points with 114, but in the first quarter, she was held out of the net, notching just an assist. She first scored on a free position at the 12:37 mark of the second.

The Seawolves swapped from Charlotte Verhulst to Gianna Forte and even Morgan Mitchell at times in the circle, but Mashewske continued her run. Tyrrell hit the right post after a Mashewske win and Savannah Sweitzer’s rebound and shot attempt was called for a dangerous follow through, giving Stony Brook the ball back.

Masera tallied her second of the day on the other end to cut the deficit to two. Adamson answered with a goal to silence Stony Brook’s run momentarily, though the Seawolves’ strong second-quarter start continued with a goal from Verhulst.

Tyrrell, Gracie Britton, Baxter and Joely Caramelli rattled off four straight goals to push the lead to six. The Seawolves got one back with 15 seconds to play in the half but the damage was already done as the Orange led 11-6 at the break.

Mashewske’s 15 draws in the first half set the program record for most in an entire NCAA Tournament game.

“When I look at teams across the country and I look at our team, that is something really special about our team. We have Kate at the draw,” Treanor said.

After the game, Stony Brook head coach Joe Spallina broke down Mashewske’s success.

“The draw taker and the magical stick that she had was just a difference in the ballgame,” he said. He explained he and his draw-takers felt Mashewske’s stringing allowed for an extra second of time with the ball pre whistle.

Despite having her stick checked multiple times in 2024, she passed every one. And Spallina never called for one throughout her thrashing Sunday, saying the claim wasn’t to take anything away from Mashewske and that she’s one of the best, if not the best.

Treanor responded postgame saying, “It’s difficult because we have such a talented draw specialist, and she’s an amazing player and nothing should be taken away from her. Our equipment is legal and certified.”

In the second half, the Orange and Seawolves went back and forth just as they did in the regular season matchup. Adamson and Tyrrell each added to their goal totals as Stony Brook scored a pair in the third quarter.

Mashewske was slightly slowed on the draw as Spallina’s team tried everything to limit her. Still, she pulled through as the Orange attack added on. Britton tallied a second to open the fourth quarter and built a six-goal lead.

Stony Brook attempted to claw back throughout the second half but the lack of possessions limited the offensive momentum from ever making real impact runs. Syracuse got its revenge over the Seawolves and advanced to the national quarterfinal.

“I’m really excited about our team,” Treanor said. “I think we had just a really overall great game from the offense to draw to the defense to the ride. All the different things we were working on all year, I thought looked great today.”

Published on May 12, 2024 at 5:04 pm

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