Treanor Day!

 

   SU sophomore scores 7 in win over top ranked UNC

Story by: Donato DiRenzo II
Photo by Jillian Thaw

Kayla Treanor cradled the ball behind North Carolina’s goal, took a couple of seconds to size up the defense, then attacked. She darted around the crease trying to get an edge on her defender, stopped abruptly just off-center the goal, head faked to the inside then turned over her right shoulder smashing the ball towards the ground just past Caylee Waters legs. The UNC goalie made 13 saves in the game but this was not one of them. 
 

It wasn’t Treanor’s first or last goal of the game, but it was the one that put #3 Syracuse (13-1) up 10-9 with nine minutes left in the second half. They would go on to win 12-9 over #1 UNC (12-2).
 

            “As a team our offense was really connecting,” Treanor said. “We did well being patient, executing and trusting our offense.”
 

The game was billed as a matchup between two of the best teams in the country, but Treanor didn’t waste time turning it into a one-woman show scoring four of her game-high seven goals in the first half. Alyssa Murray (one goal, four assists) and Amy Cross (two goals) also contributed to the Orange's inspired play.
 

“We’re playing the number one team in the country, defending national champions, so  there’s just that extra incentive to get a ‘W’  today,” Treanor said. “North Carolina’s a really great team and we really respect them so I think that was the energy today.”
 

It didn't take long for things to get chippy between two teams fighting for the top spot in the ACC. SU was called for 37 fouls, and UNC 25. The plethora of whistles made stoppages of play fairly frequent throughout. Illegal contact, offsetting penalties, questionable calls on the goal line and one peculiar incident in which both a SU and UNC players sticks were deemed to have illegal pockets all contributed to a somewhat disjointed game at times.
 

So much so UNC coach Jenny Levy answered bluntly when asked about it post-game.
 

“I thought the officiating was awful,” Levy said. “It didn't effect winning or losing, but you don't want the officials to be inserted as part of the game. You just want them there making sure the game is managed.”
 

She made sure to reiterate it was not the reason for their loss, and that it was equally bad for both teams.
 

Syracuse coach Gary Gait declined to comment on the officiating saying only that he did that once before and it “didn't work out very well for me.”
 

Despite the minor controversy, the game lived up to expectations as both teams battled back and forth. Whenever Syracuse would open up a 2 or 3 goal lead, North Carolina was quick to answer with a couple of scores of their own. Abbey Friend (3 goals) and Sydney Holman (2 goals, 2 assists) led the way for UNC.
 

While it was the Syracuse defense that held the Tar Heels to their second lowest goal total all year, the day belonged to Treanor. Levy called her the best player they’ve seen all year.
 

“She’s probably the only player in the country to score seven goals on that team twice,” Gait said, referring to the identical performance Treanor had against UNC in an early season exhibition game playing for the U.S. National team.

Next up, Syracuse travels to Ithaca to take on Cornell on Tuesday at 7p.m.. North Carolina returns home to take on rival Duke at Chapel Hill on Wednesday at 7 p.m..