Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange make early statement with 15-9 win over Maryland

‘Cuse controlled the game right from the outset as they made their first road trip of the season a big success.

Through two games this season, the Syracuse Orange have done an impressive job of assuaging any preseason questions about their youth and relative inexperience.

After a strong opening win over UAlbany, the Orange kicked things up a notch as they hit the road for a much more difficult non-conference battle with the Maryland Terrapins.

It didn’t look all that difficult, though, as ‘Cuse came away with a strong statement win that they controlled from the beginning and turned into a 15-9 victory over the host Terrapins.

The Orange got out of the gates fast in this one, scoring on almost all of their early possessions to jump out to a 5-1 lead just eight minutes in. That opening run was entirely about Emma Ward creating chances from X, primarily using her trademark leverage dodging for both herself and her teammates. She either scored or assisted on the first five ‘Cuse goals.

After a pair of Maryland goals to close the first quarter, SU re-took control of a more defensive minded second frame. The Orange went on a 3-0 run that took most of the quarter, starting with a nice individual effort from Caroline Trinkaus at the end of a shot clock. Carlie DeSimone found Joely Caramelli with a spectacular pass over the entire defense for a slam dunk finish, and Emma Muchnick finished off a nice right alley dodge to put SU up 8-3 before the Terps tacked on a goal to head into the half down, 8-4.

The Orange offense took charge again to open the second half, with Ward and Trinkaus connecting for a phenomenal goal that should be on SportsCenter later tonight. A dodging Ward was met with a double team as she emerged from below GLE, and she threw a perfectly-placed BTB pass to an open Trinkaus, who proceeded to perform a BTB of her own for the beautiful connection:

After that, Trinkaus scored her third on a nice crossover dodge near the crease, and the Orange ended up closing the quarter on a 3-0 burst on goals from Mileena Cotter, Olivia Adamson and Muchnick to hold a 13-6 lead heading for the fourth.

The final frame was a sloppy one for both teams as the rain started to fall, although some of it was due to some poor decision making by SU to push the pace when it really wasn’t needed. Maryland got a tick closer, but ‘Cuse saw the game out nicely to secure the 15-9 win.

The offense had a strong day overall, moving the ball nicely and shooting efficiently. They finished 15-for-26 shooting (57.7 percent) with nine assists. There are some things to clean up with 15 turnovers, but a strong day overall.

It was Emma Ward’s (3G, 4A) day with seven points to lead all scorers, while Olivia Adamson (4G, 1A) added five of her own. Carolina Trinkaus (3G) was eye-opening with her first career hat trick, while Emma Muchnick (2G) added a pair of goals in her homecoming to her freshman year school.

The defense had a tremendous day, finishing with as many caused turnovers as goals allowed. They were aggressive and in Maryland’s face all game long, extending their zone all the way out well beyond the 12-meter arc to pressure the Terps and make them uncomfortable in possession. Kaci Benoit (3GB, 3CT) and Coco Vandiver (2GB, 3CT) stood out with three caused turnovers and multiple ground balls each.

Daniella Guyette (11SV) had a fantastic game in net with 11 saves, helping the keep UMD at bay when they could have otherwise had chances to get back into it. She made a lot of saves with the body, proving her willingness to keep the ball out of the net. She did have quite a few poor decisions on clearance passes that led directly to goals for Maryland, so that’s something to clean up.

The draw control unit had an uneven day. It was a disaster early, as Meghan Rode got beaten on 10-of-13 draws before getting taken out for Olivia Adamson. Liv played a big role in this game to help slow Maryland’s possession advantage by winning 9-of-15 draws from the middle of the game on.

The Orange will be back in action this coming Tuesday, February 18 when Cornell comes to the JMA Dome for a 4 PM draw on ACC Network Extra.