Vol. 3: Epic Syracuse-Stony Brook Matchup Headlines Weekend of Nail Biters
Vol. 3: Epic Syracuse-Stony Brook Matchup Headlines Weekend of Nail Biters
The No. 3 Orange held off in-state foe No. 4 Stony Brook Sunday evening, capping a weekend full of one-possession, poll-altering games.
Megan Carney, who had seven points on the day, looks to dodge past Stony Brook middie Clare Levy during Syracuse’s 12-11 win Sunday. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
Meaghan Tyrrell was the reigning USA Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week. The senior attacker fueled the No. 3 Orange offense yet again Sunday evening with four goals.
But her younger sister, Emma, sealed the deal against No. 4 Stony Brook.
At least that’s what it looked like.
Capitalizing on a woman-up opportunity, freshman attacker Olivia Adamson—who scored two goals earlier—flung a pass to Megan Carney from X. Carney already had four assists on the day and detected a cutting Emma Tyrrell. The junior middie caught Carney’s pass, trailed right and fired an underhand shot past the left cleat of Stony Brook goalie Charlie Campbell with under two minutes and 30 seconds to go.
The scoring play would have put Syracuse up, 13-11. Would have.
While Tyrrell was celebrating with her teammates, the referees were examining what they deemed to be an illegal stick. No goal. No two-score cushion.
Perhaps out of frustration, Orange midfielder Sierra Cockerille checked Stony Brook middie Clare Levy in transition directly after the ruling. It was one of four yellow cards in the final seven minutes of the back-and-forth affair. The Seawolves waited out the shot clock until they had the woman-up advantage. But an off-target centering pass, and, soon after, a gut-wrenching Erin MacQuarrie turnover and Tessa Queri ground ball pickup spelled doom for Joe Spallina’s team, which is now 1-4 against Syracuse all-time.
Oscillating 7-on-6 matchups, a bevy of yellow cards, stout defense—a total of seven goals were scored in the first and fourth quarters combined—and an illegal stick check.
Syracuse-Stony Brook had everything a top-five matchup could offer.
And it was just a taste of an exhilarating weekend in the sport of women’s lacrosse.
Other Storylines to Know:
1. One-goal games galore! This past weekend, there were nine games decided by one goal, two of which were resolved in overtime. We talked about Syracuse-Stony Brook already, and we’ll get to USC-Jacksonville later in this newsletter. Here’s your recap for the seven other thrillers:
No. 14 Rutgers topped Georgetown, 17-16
The first two quarters were all Hoyas, as Georgetown stretched its lead to 8-2 early in the second quarter. Hoyas midfielder Annabelle Albert paced Georgetown with five goals, scoring three straight at the end of the first quarter. Starting at 6:46 left in the third, though, the Scarlet Knights embarked on a 8-1 scoring run and went from trailing, 14-9, to leading, 17-15, with 4:02 left. Rutgers scored two woman-up goals and were led by midfielder Cassidy Spilis (4 goals) and attacker Stephanie Kelly (3 goals, 3 assists). Rutgers outshot Georgetown, 16-9, in the final two quarters and won 10-of-13 ground balls in that stretch.
La Salle beat Mount St. Mary’s in triple OT, 10-9
This game was even the entire way. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point. Mount St. Mary’s middie Dani Donoghue scored four goals, and La Salle’s Emily Johnston and Maddie Henderson each had a hat trick. In the overtime periods, Mount St. Mary’s logged the first three shots, but La Salle goalie Kelli McGroarty saved all of them. La Salle went a whopping 17:49 of game time between shots. On the Explorers’ first shot since early in the fourth quarter, Johnston sniped the game-winner into the top left corner with 43 seconds left in triple overtime.
Richmond edged Liberty in overtime, 13-12
When Richmond midfielder Kendall Duffy scored with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter to put the Spiders up, 12-7, it seemed like the team would move to 3-0 without much trouble. A 5-0 Liberty run, however, tied the game at 12-12 with 1:11 left. Mackenzie Lehman and Brooke Bryan sparked the comeback, each scoring two goals in the fourth. In the final 15 minutes of regulation, Liberty outshot Richmond, 17-4. With 0:51 left in overtime, though, Duffy scored her fifth goal of the day from point blank, beating Liberty’s Jennifer Soriero.
Army completed comeback and snuck past Hofstra, 13-12
It was the Pride who led most of the way in this one, as they jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter, an 8-5 lead in the third, and an 11-8 lead early in the fourth. Like the Liberty Flames, the Army Black Knights scored five straight in the fourth quarter and led, 13-11, late. Pride attacker Katie Whelan scored with 1:11 left to bring Hofstra back within one, but that’s where the score would stay. Whelan notched four goals for Hofstra, while Caroline Raymond and Jolie Riedell each had four for Army. The Black Knights’ 15 points came from just four players: Julia Gorajek (2 goals, 1 assist), Carleigh Armstrong (3 goals), Jolie Riedell (4 goals) and Caroline Raymond (4 goals, 1 assist).
Quinnipiac scored six straight to down LIU, 9-8
Lacrosse is a game of runs, and there’s no better evidence of that than the Quinnipiac-LIU game. The Bobcats struck first blood and went up, 2-0. Then Amanda Masullo (4 goals) and Ava Taylor (2 goals) charged an 8-1 Sharks run. LIU led, 8-3, with 9:56 left in the third quarter. The Bobcats finished strong, tallying six consecutive goals from five different players in the final quarter and a half. In the fourth quarter, QU outshot LIU, 7-4, held a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal, was a perfect 5-5 on clears, won 6-of-8 ground balls and converted two free-position opportunities.
Kennesaw State stunned Oregon, 14-13
In the Owls’ first-ever win over a Power Five school, senior midfielder Siena Gore was electric. She finished with five goals and two assists, helping Kennesaw State to a 13-7 lead late in the third quarter. The Ducks stormed back with a 6-1 scoring run, but a late Owls goal from Chesslyn Lamar proved to be the difference.
Siena Gore works her way through the Ducks’ defense on Sunday, as Kennesaw State logged its first-ever Power Five win. Photo courtesy: Kyle Hess/Kennesaw State Athletics.
UMass Lowell squeaked out an 11-10 win over Marist
Man, what a finish in this one. There were three goals in the final 2:30 out in Lowell, and two goals in the final 30 seconds. The River Hawks’ Layton Nass scored at 2:28 in the fourth to put UML up, 10-9. It was the team’s first lead of the day. Marist’s Kerri Gutenberger tied things up with 23 seconds left on a free-position laser. Just 21 seconds later, with 0:02 left on the clock, Megan Brockbank dished a beautiful feed to a cutting Molly Shaw, who buried the game-winner. Brockbank finished with a goal and three assists, and Shaw had four goals on 10 shots.
2. Vanderbilt and USC earned their way into the Top 25 with ranked wins. Vanderbilt dipped into the Top 20 last year after starting the season 11-2 but finished 12-7 after being bounced by Jacksonville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores are back in the Inside Lacrosse Poll this season, except much earlier this time around, thanks to a comeback win over then-No. 12 Notre Dame. Despite facing a 4-0, first-quarter deficit, Vanderbilt climbed its way out of the hole to take down the Fighting Irish. Sophomore Ellie Hilsabeck piloted the effort with a career-high four goals, and freshmen Josie Ward and Molly Finlay both scored for the first time in the collegiate ranks. Twice, Notre Dame pulled within one goal of Vandy in the second half, however, the Commodores held on for their third ranked win in Beth Hewitt’s four seasons at the helm.
As for USC, a 6-2 third quarter was the difference in a highly-contested bout with then-No. 18 Jacksonville, which staked itself to a 6-3 advantage in the opening frame. A trio of Trojans notched hat tricks, namely sophomore attacker Shelby Tilton, who netted the game-winner after crashing the crease and going low with 49 seconds remaining to clinch a 13-12 victory. USC improved to 3-0 at the end of the weekend with a win over Mercer.
3. We need to talk about No. 8 Duke. Is there a hotter team in the country right now than the Duke Blue Devils? Duke leads the nation in scoring offense (23 goals per game), points per game (34.25), draw controls per game (21.75) and shots on goal per game (32.75). Maddie Jenner has been a clinician in the circle, averaging 15.75 draw controls per game. That’s at least 4.75 more draws than every other player in the nation. Graduate middie Catriona Barry already has 21 goals and eight assists this year, and sophomore attacker Katie DeSimone is close on her heels with 21 goals and five assists. The Blue Devils are a perfect 4-0, with their closest game being a nine-goal win over High Point. We’re expecting continued dominance in upcoming games versus Wofford and East Carolina before a tasty showdown at Syracuse on March 6.
Catriona Barry, tied for first nationally in goals with teammate Katie DeSimone, makes a move amid a seven-goal, four-assist day versus High Point. Photo courtesy: Duke Athletics.
4. No. 2 UNC beat No. 7 Florida in Gainesville. David picked this as a Final Four matchup in our season preview, so we’re lucky that we got to see these two out-of-conference foes face off in mid-February. Florida led, 2-1, early, thanks to goals from Danielle Pavinelli and Emily Heller, but a 5-1 UNC scoring run put the Tar Heels up, 6-3. They wouldn’t look back. UNC won the first quarter, 5-2, and the third, 4-1, and led, 14-7, early in the fourth. The Tar Heels once again showcased a balanced offense, as Jamie Ortega, Scottie Rose Growney and Elizabeth Hillman each scored three goals. Notre Dame transfer Andie Aldave had another two and already has eight points this year. In goal, the Gators’ Sarah Reznick allowed 15 goals and made seven saves, while Taylor Moreno had eight saves on 19 Florida shots on goal.
5. Charlotte North owns the ACC: North already set the NCAA single-season record for goals last season with 102 and shattered the NCAA Tournament record with 31 goals en route to Boston College’s first-ever national championship. She etched her name atop another leaderboard Saturday. With four goals against Boston University, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner became the ACC’s all-time leading goal scorer. Her 284th career goal put her ahead of Sam Apuzzo, the 2018 Tewaaraton Award winner and, now, a BC assistant coach. This is North’s third year in Chestnut Hill, but you can’t forget her two seasons with Duke, either. While in Durham, she registered a combined 141 goals as a freshman and sophomore, leading the Blue Devils in scoring each year.
Sam Apuzzo (left) and Charlotte North (right) pose for a picture after North broke Apuzzo’s record for career goals by an ACC player with 284. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
Weekly Focus:
IVIES IMPRESS IN THEIR RETURN TO ACTION…
709 days had passed between the Ivy League’s last women’s lacrosse game of 2020—a 13-12 overtime win for Yale over Fresno State—and this past weekend. The Ancient Eight showed no signs of rust, however, as they went an impressive 7-1 on the weekend.
On Saturday, the Cornell Big Red got a 14-9 victory on the road at Villanova, the Brown Bears gutted out a 14-11 win over Bryant in cold, windy conditions in Providence. Dartmouth beat UNH, 11-3, in Durham, New Hampshire, Columbia topped Manhattan, 13-7, in New York City, Yale dominated Sacred Heart, 15-4, and Penn beat Delaware by the same score. On Sunday, the lone blemish for the Ivy League was a 12-6 Harvard defeat to a talented Colorado team.
In one of the most notable games of the weekend, the Princeton Tigers beat Virginia, 17-11, on the road. Princeton middie Kari Buonanno had four goals, while Grace Tauckus and McKenzie Blake each had three. Senior goalie and reigning Ivy League Goalie of the Year Sam Fish notched 15 saves against the Cavaliers. This weekend, Princeton welcomes Temple into Jersey, Cornell hosts Penn State and Brown has a date with No. 1 BC.
Princeton celebrates one of four Kari Buonanno goals in Charlottesville, where the Tigers beat then-No. 10 UVA, 17-11. Photo courtesy: Brian McWalters/Princeton Athletics.
Numbers to Know:
0.714 – the save percentage of Penn’s senior goalie Krissy Kowalski. She made 10 stops and allowed just four goals in a 15-4 season-opening win over Delaware. Kowalski played just four games in 2020, allowing 35 goals and recording a 10.84 goals against average as well as a .507 save percentage.
4 – the number of free-position goals that Marist junior attacker Kerri Gutenberger scored in the Red Foxes’ 11-10 loss to UMass Lowell. Gutenberger was 4-of-6 on free-position attempts and is showing that she has one of the strongest shots in the sport.
39 – the number of ground balls that Albany nabbed en route to a 19-2 win over Colgate. The 39 ground balls is the most by a team in a single game so far this season. Colgate had 35 ground balls in that same game, which is tied for the third-highest ground ball total in 2022. So, we have to ask: Did the ball spend more time on the ground or in a stick during that game?
Tewaaraton Watch:
POINTS LEADERS
GOALS LEADERS
NOTE: Stats are correct through Feb. 21.
Latest Inside Lacrosse Poll
NOTE: screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
Andy’s preseason Final Four pick of Maryland is looking good, as the Terrapins were big winners this week. They moved from No. 8 to No. 5 and are now the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, passing No. 6 Northwestern. Michigan and Denver continue to climb the ladder—the Wolverines are now in the Top 10, and Denver is ranked No. 12 after beating Stanford in a NCAA Tournament game rematch. UVA falls from No. 10 to No. 13 after two straight losses to Maryland and Princeton. Notre Dame continues to spiral, now ranked No. 17 after an upset loss to Vanderbilt. The Commodores have cracked the Top 25 at No. 22, as have the No. 23 USC Trojans. They are 3-0 with wins over San Diego State, Jacksonville and Mercer.
What’s Ahead?
No. 6 Northwestern @ No. 17 Notre Dame, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.
No. 2 UNC @ Pitt, Feb. 23, 4 p.m.
Ohio State @ No. 12 Denver, Feb. 25, 3 p.m.
No. 20 Temple @ No. 11 Princeton, Feb. 26, 1 p.m.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of the Quick on the Draw newsletter. If you liked it or know someone who will, please share! We’ll be back next week for more coverage.