Vol. 10: Carolina Blues — Syracuse Ends UNC's 41-Game Home Win Streak
Top-ranked Syracuse stayed perfect in Chapel Hill, thanks to a career day from goalie Delaney Sweitzer, and the Orange handed the Tar Heels their first home loss since 2019.
Syracuse senior goalie Delaney Sweitzer stops a free-position shot at UNC on April 15. She recorded 15 saves and six ground balls, both of which tied career highs. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
The last time North Carolina lost at home was over four years ago. We had no idea what COVID was; Donald Trump was in office; and Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Top-ranked Boston College downed UNC, 14-8, on March 23, 2019 behind five goals from Sam Apuzzo. The two teams would meet two months later in the Final Four, where the Eagles won again.
But all good things, and all legendary streaks, must come to an end. On Saturday, No. 1 Syracuse defeated No. 5 UNC, 14-12, snapping the Tar Heels’ 41-game home winning streak.
Almost all of the team stats in this game pointed toward UNC. The Tar Heels had 10 more shots (35-25), eight more shots on goals (27-19), six more draw controls (18-12), three more free-position shots (8-5) and a slightly better clearing percentage (15-of-15 to 19-of-20). But one stat meant more than the rest: saves.
Syracuse senior goalie Delaney Sweitzer made 15 saves, while UNC’s two goalies combined for just five. Sweitzer’s save total matched her career high, and she tied another career high with six ground balls. Three of her stops came on free-position attempts. She was named IWLCA and ACC Defensive Player of the Week following the performance.
Sweitzer picked up her fifth ACC Defensive Player of the Week award, and her first from the IWLCA. Graphic courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
Boosted by the play of their stellar goalie, the Orange stayed in front for most of the game. After UNC senior attacker Melissa Sconone opened up the scoring, Syracuse rattled off three straight goals, including a pair from senior midfielder Emma Tyrrell. Up, 8-6, at halftime, Syracuse withstood two UNC scoring runs in the second half without forfeiting the lead.
The Tar Heels came close, though. Junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger tied the game, 8-8, in the third quarter, and sophomore attacker Reilly Casey knotted it up, 12-12, with a stellar goal in the final five minutes of the fourth. But Syracuse finished strong. Graduate attacker Megan Carney and Emma Tyrrell scored the last two goals of the game, moving the Orange to 7-0 in the ACC.
The Tyrrell sisters were two of the game’s three leading scorers. Emma scored four goals and added two assists, while Meaghan had two goals and four helpers. Meaghan is now second on Syracuse’s all-time points list with 394, passing her head coach Kayla Treanor, who finished with 393. With three more points, she’ll be the all-time leading scorer for the Orange.
The ACC regular season slate wraps up Thursday night. Syracuse hosts BC, and UNC plays at Duke. The conference tournament begins Sunday.
Other Storylines to Know:
St. Joe’s bests Davison in double overtime, continuing its A-10 push. Can we get a heat check? The Hawks have won five in a row, with their latest victory coming against Davidson. That said, St. Joe’s needed a pair of extra frames to pull off the Senior Day win and break the teams’ tie in the Atlantic 10 standings.
It could have been over long before that had the Hawks not allowed a five-goal comeback. Spurred by a goal before half from senior attacker Erin Cooke, Davidson orchestrated a 5-1 run to pull within one score of the Hawks late in the third quarter. From there, St. Joe’s and Davidson alternated goals until the final four minutes of regulation. That’s when Julianne Carey and Lauren Garcia tacked on their fourth and third goals, respectively, tying it all up at 15-15.
Freshman attacker Alexa Capozzoli saved the day for the Hawks. She netted the game-winner, notching her third straight outing with four goals. Capozzoli is surging late, and so are the Hawks, who have won five in a row for the first time since 2018. They still have a chance at the A-10 regular season title, but winning it requires beating No. 13 UMass this coming Saturday.
Marquette increases its win streak to 11 yet still isn’t ranked. The Golden Eagles are now 14-1, including a perfect 4-0 in Big East play. Their 13th win of the season came against then-No. 24 UConn, 12-9. It went down as Marquette’s second-ever ranked victory. Head coach Meredith Black’s team conceded the game-opening score but fired back with eight consecutive goals. Senior attacker Shea Garcia was responsible for three of them.
Eventually UConn’s defense buckled down, but so did Marquette’s. Golden Eagles sophomore goalie Brynna Nixon registered a career-high 14 saves, tied for the eighth-most in single game program history. Marquette was also 24-of-25 on clears and maintained an 18-13 ground ball advantage.
Marquette kept its double-digit win streak alive with a 22-16 win at Butler Wednesday, and it did so in record-breaking fashion. Attacker Mary Schumar set the Big East single-game record with nine assists. Her nine helpers also put her over the century mark for her career, making her just the second-ever Marquette player to log at least 100 assists. It’s been that kind of year for the Golden Eagles: a season full of milestones.
Marquette attacker Mary Schumar cradles the ball in space at Butler on April 19. Schumar tallied a Big East-record nine assists in the win. Photo courtesy: Marquette Athletics.
Harvard wins fifth in a row and hands Yale second straight Ivy League loss. After a 2-5 start, the Harvard Crimson have rattled off five consecutive wins, including one-goal thrillers at Cornell and versus Yale. The Crimson downed No. 16 Yale Saturday, 10-9, handing the Bulldogs their second straight Ivy League loss.
Let’s rewind to Harvard’s season opener at Michigan. Less than five minutes into the season, first-team All-Ivy midfielder Grace Hulslander left the game with injury, and she hasn’t played since. The Crimson lost to the Wolverines by seven and limped to a 0-4 start with five-goal defeats to Brown and Vermont.
Sophomore attacker Caroline Mullahy has multiple points in nine straight games, including five in a win over Yale. Graphic courtesy: Harvard Athletics.
But over its last five games, Harvard is averaging 14 goals per game and is outscoring opponents by 5.8 goals. Junior midfielder Callie Hem is second in the Ivy League in scoring with 50 points (36 goals, 14 assists), and sophomore attacker Caroline Mullahy has four goals and 14 assists across the win streak. Against Yale, the pair combined for eight points, and Hem netted the game-winner. The Crimson defense held the Bulldogs to just one goal in the fourth quarter. After scoring 10 or more goals in 10 of its first 11 games, Yale has been held to single-digit goals in its last two outings.
Penn leads the Ivy League at 4-0. Harvard, Princeton and Yale each have three wins. As we predicted in our Week 3 weekly focus, the Ancient Eight is up for grabs.
BC scores 25 goals in rout of Virginia. The Eagles reached the 20-goal mark six times last season, en route to their fifth straight national title game appearance. Before this past weekend, though, BC hadn’t hit that single-game scoring threshold once this season. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein’s team more than cleared the bar against UVA, topping the Cavaliers, 25-13, on Senior Day in Alumni Stadium.
Five BC players logged at least five points in the resounding victory: Mckenna Davis (2 goals, 4 assists), Cassidy Weeks (3 goals, 3 assists), Jenn Medjid (5 goals), Kayla Martello (5 goals) and Courtney Weeks (3 goals, 2 assists). Medjid is now one of three players in program history with at least 300 career points at BC.
Jenn Medjid looks to goal versus UVA on April 15. Medjid is third nationally with 61 goals, and she’s one of three players to record at least 300 career points at BC. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
What’s interesting is that UVA actually staked itself to a 5-2 advantage, courtesy of a combined four goals from Mackenzie Hoeg and Ashlyn McGovern. The Eagles ended the half on a 9-4 run and then turned the game upside down in the final two quarters, outscoring UVA by 10 goals along the way. At one point, BC scored eight straight, and Medjid was responsible for two of them. BC is 7-1 in the ACC with a top-five matchup looming at Syracuse Thursday.
Eying third straight NCAA Tournament, Drexel beats Temple in double overtime. Let’s give Drexel its flowers. One of 31 teams in the nation with 10 or more wins, the Dragons are seeking their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. After early losses to Penn State and Maryland, the Dragons are 8-2 in their last 10 games with a five-goal win over then-No. 19 Johns Hopkins as their best result.
Sophomore goalie Jenika Cuocco has been central to Drexel’s success. Her .527 save percentage leads the CAA and is fourth in the nation, and she’s top 15 nationally in goals against average (8.99) and saves per game (9.93). Cuocco has been named CAA Rookie of the Week five times, most recently after her 12 saves versus Temple in a 10-9 double overtime win last Wednesday.
Drexel sophomore goalie Jenika Cuocco is one of three players to be named CAA Rookie of the Week five times in a single season. Photo courtesy: Sideline Photos/Drexel Athletics.
Fifth-year attacker Grace Harding netted the dramatic game-winner against the Owls, and the Dragons erased a three-goal deficit to beat Delaware, 13-11, just three days later. Drexel is 3-2 in the CAA, trailing No. 6 Stony Brook and Towson, who are both 5-0. The Dragons close out the regular season with games at Hofstra and versus Monmouth.
Weekly Focus:
SOME B1G UPSETS AND A BIT MORE RANDOMNESS, TOO
It was a weird week in the Big Ten.
Johns Hopkins beat Michigan, No. 13 at the time, and it wasn’t particularly close, either. The now-No. 22 Blue Jays thumped the Wolverines, 14-7. It’s the first ranked win for first-year head coach Tim McCormack. Johns Hopkins was previously 0-5 against ranked foes this season. The Blue Jays had gotten close against Loyola (12-10 loss) and Maryland (13-12 loss), but they broke through in Ann Arbor, in part thanks to six points (3 goals, 3 assists) from senior attacker Maeve Barker, who eclipsed the 100-point mark for her career in the outing. With Tuesday’s 13-12 overtime win against Towson, seven of the Blue Jay’s 14 games this season have now been decided by three goals or fewer. Johns Hopkins is back to .500.
You know what else is weird? Michigan’s regular season is already over. But back to the rundown…
Goodbye, Maryland’s nine-game win streak. Hello, Penn State’s third ranked win of the year. The No. 14 Nittany Lions took down No. 12 Maryland, 12-7, handing the Terps their first Big Ten defeat of the season. Penn State has now won three of its last four games against Maryland after losing 16 straight contests to the sport’s greatest giant. This time, freshman midfielder Emma Kelly paced the Nittany Lions with four goals. She had just eight goals on the season coming into the matchup. But shout out to the Penn State defense. It held Maryland to its fewest goals in a game since 1997. Sophomore goalie Ashley Bowan registered a season-high 10 saves, and senior Haley Urgo caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
That wasn’t even the biggest surprise of the week, though. Rutgers had dibs on that. The Scarlet Knights, who have struggled all year after back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, might have just experienced a late-season breakthrough. They knocked off then-No. 6 Stony Brook, 12-7, a cathartic victory considering the Seawolves were the team to oust Rutgers from May Madness each of the last two seasons. A 15-7 advantage in the draw circle helped head coach Melissa Lehman’s team hold Stony Brook to just two second-half goals.
Rutgers tacked on a win over Vermont this weekend. Next up, the Scarlet Knights get the only other Big Ten team without a conference win, Ohio State. Triumph versus the Buckeyes, and Rutgers will be able to make a late tourney push, if and only if it can upset No. 4 JMU this weekend. What’s crazy is that Rutgers is tied for the second-longest win streak in the Big Ten right now…at two straight wins. The first? Well, that’s Northwestern.
The Wildcats have rattled off 14 victories in a row. But even they have dealt with some randomness recently. Tewaaraton Award favorite Izzy Scane—the nation’s leading goal scorer—forgot her jersey in Evanston and had to wear No. 56 at Ohio State this past weekend. Different number, same Scane: She plied up six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in the 17-11 win. Scane and Mercer transfer Hailey Rhatigan, who has six consecutive games with four-plus goals, have formed quite the 1-2 punch. They’ve powered Northwestern to its second Big Ten regular season title in three years.
Izzy Scane celebrates during a 17-11 Northwestern win at Ohio State on April 15. Scane had to wear No. 56 after forgetting her jersey at home. Photo courtesy: Northwestern Athletics.
Numbers to Know:
60.0% – The UAlbany Great Danes lead the nation in free-position percentage, scoring on 42 of their 70 attempt this season. Head coach Katie Thompson’s squad is also seventh nationally in draw controls per game (17.36) and shot percentage (49.4%). UAlbany is ranked 26th in the RPI with an 8-6 record.
2 – Northwestern and Syracuse are the only two teams that have scored 400 or more points this season. The Wildcats have 409, and the Orange have 400. Clemson is third with 381 points, but the Tigers have played one more game than both Syracuse and Northwestern.
.775 – The ACC has posted the best non-conference winning percentage so far this season, winning 55 games and losing 16. The Big Ten is a combined 46-21 (.686) in non-conference play. Last season, the Big Ten went 66-23 (.7415), and the ACC finished 80-28 (.7407) in non-conference games, including the NCAA Tournament.
Tewaaraton Watch:
The Tewaaraton Foundation will narrow the field to 25 nominees Thursday. Those nominees can be players from outside the award’s watch list, or the first two rounds of its additions, essentially permitting a third phase of newcomers. But here’s a refresher on the student-athletes who have already been added to the watch list midseason.
First-round additions:
Lacey Bartholomay, Jr. – Goalie (Army)
Sydni Black, Jr. – Attack (Loyola)
Emelia Bohi, So. – Goalie (Denver)
Megan Carney, Gr. – Attack (Syracuse)
Reilly Casey, Jr. – Attack (UNC)
Jenna Collignon, So. – Attack (Yale)
Kayla Martello, Jr. – Attack (BC)
Rachel Matey, Sr. – Defense (James Madison)
Trinity McPherson, Gr. – Defense (Denver)
Alecia Nicholas, So. – Goalie (UNC)
Jill Smith, So. – Midfield (Michigan)
Lauren Spence, So. – Goalie (Loyola)
Madison Taylor, Fr. – Midfield (Northwestern)
Jackie Wolak, Sr. – Attack (Notre Dame)
Second-round additions:
Kat Buchanan, Sr. – Goalie (James Madison)
Ellie Curry, Sr. – Midfield (Denver)
Brigid Duffy, Fr. – Midfield (Army)
Julia Gilbert, Sr. – Attack (Denver)
Emily Heller, Sr. – Midfield (Florida)
Tai Jankowski, Sr. – Attack (James Madison)
Hailey Rhatigan, Gr. – Attack (Northwestern)
Delaney Sweitzer, Sr. – Goalie (Syracuse)
Ava Yovino, Fr. – Midfield (Navy)
If you’re looking for the original 50 watch list honorees—announced on Feb. 10—USA Lacrosse Magazine has you covered here.
Five finalists will be announced in early May. They’ll be invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on June 1.
POINTS LEADERS
GOALS LEADERS
NOTE: Stats correct through April 19.
Inside Lacrosse Poll
Screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
The top four stayed put: Syracuse, Northwestern, Denver and James Madison, in that order. Then came some movement in this week’s Inside Lacrosse Top 25. BC returned to the top five following its trouncing of UVA, which somehow moved up from No. 12 to No. 11 despite the loss. UNC dropped out of the top five for what seems like the first time in forever, sliding to No. 6. Stony Brook suffered more, falling three spots from No. 6 to No. 9 after its shocking defeat to Rutgers. Loyola is back in the top 10, thanks to its win over Army—now No. 16—and Maryland is outside the top 10 at No. 12 because of its defeat to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, made the jump from No. 18 to No. 14. UMass, by the way, still has only one loss and has inched up to No. 13. Michigan slipped from No. 13 to No. 18 after its loss to Johns Hopkins, and Yale’s second straight defeat—this one to rival Harvard—moved the Bulldogs down three spots, putting the Bulldogs at No. 19.
There were no newcomers to the poll this week. UConn is hanging on at No. 25, even though Marquette—which has five more wins than the Huskies and just beat them—remains on the outside looking in. The RPI likes the Golden Eagles, too. They’re 16th in that metric, which, ultimately, matters more come NCAA Tournament season.
What’s Ahead?
No. 6 UNC @ Duke, April 20, 5:30 p.m.
No. 5 BC @ No. 1 Syracuse, April 20, 7 p.m.
No. 13 UMass @ St. Joe’s, April 22, 12 p.m.
No. 23 Navy @ No. 16 Army, April 22, 2:30 p.m.
No. 12 Maryland @ No. 2 Northwestern, April 22, 8 p.m.
Marquette @ Villanova, April 23, 12 p.m.
No. 4 JMU @ Rutgers, April 23, 1 p.m.
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