A Familiar End for No. 4 Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse, Fall 10-8 to No. 1 Maryland in NCAA Semi-final

Story & Photo by Robin Deehan

CHESTER, PA. – The top-ranked Maryland women’s lacrosse team will get a chance to defend its 2014 national title after handing No. 4 Syracuse a 10-8 loss Friday night at PPL Park in the NCAA semi-finals.

“We are really excited to have the chance to compete for a national championship on Sunday night, also we congratulate Syracuse on a great game and a great season,” Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said. “...I’m just proud of our team’s effort today and looking forward to the opportunity that awaits us.”

It was a familiar ending for the Orange women as they saw their title dreams dashed by the Terrapins for the second consecutive year, last year Maryland beat Syracuse 15-12 in the championship game.

“Tough game,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “It seems like it’s always Maryland.”

First Half: Syracuse Holds On

Taylor Cummings got the Terrapins rolling, dishing out two assists and scoring once to give Maryland a 3-0 lead in less than six minutes of play.

Syracuse answered with back-to-back goals from Halle Majorana and Kayla Treanor to cut the Maryland lead, but Cummings set up a Brooke Griffin goal to make the score 4-2 halfway through the first half.

At the 10:56 mark, Taylor Gait scored off a feed from Treanor to bring the Orange to within one and Majorana followed suit with the equalizer.

Less than a minute after Majorana evened the game at four, Gait scored unassisted to give the Orange its first and only lead of the game.

The Orange women’s lead lasted all of 51 seconds before Zoe Stukenberg, Kelly McPartland and Cummings netted three unanswered goals to send Maryland into the locker room with a 7-5 lead.

“I think at that point it’s just we re-set,” Cummings said. “At that point, we’re down 5-4, our focus is the next draw.  After the draw, it was putting the ball in the back of the net and making it 5-5.  Once we got to 5-5, we knew it was 0-0 essentially, and we just pushed off from there and put our foot on the pedal.”

Second Half: Maryland Dominates Possession

The Orange came out with a spark in the second half, winning the draw and scoring within 53 seconds.

But Syracuse’s spark quickly burned out when Erin Collins, Lamon and Griffin scored three in a row to go up by four with less than 20 minutes to play.

“I think our offense just worked well together and moving off-ball so we just were able to find those opening and made them [the shots],” Lamon said.

Treanor halted the Terrapins run, scoring on a wrap around goal at 15:34.

After the teams traded turnovers, both Gait and Majorana had scoring chances but were stoned by Maryland keeper Alex Fitzpatrick.

Treanor finally found the back of the cage again with 7:18 left to play to bring the Orange to within two.

But on the ensuing draw, the Terrapins gained possession and went into a stall.

The Syracuse defense tried to double team to win the ball back, but two yellow cards forced the Orange to play two-women down.

“I think at the end of the game we knew we had to play with a sense of urgency,” Treanor said.

The Terrapins continued their game of keep away as time ran out and the Orange’s season came to an end.

Playmakers

Maryland outshot Syracuse 29-16 and won 14-of-20 draw controls.

“We came up a little bit short on draw controls,” Gary Gait said. “And I think that was the biggest difference in the game, it just comes down to making plays when you need them.”

Cummings finished with six points on two goals and four assists and Lamon, Stukenberg, and Griffin each finished with three points.

McPartland and Collins also chipped in with a goal apiece.

Maryland keeper Fitzpatrick finished with four saves, all coming in the second half.

Treanor finished with five points on three goals and two assists.

Gait and Majorana chipped in with a pair of goals each and Erica Bodt scored once for the Orange.

Kelsey Richardson finished with seven saves on the night.

Up Next

The Orange women end their 2015 campaign with a 17-7 record and an ACC Title.

The Terrapins will play No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday, May 25 at 8:30pm in the National Championship game at PPL Park.

North Carolina advanced to the title game after dismantling No. 3 Duke 16-7 in an earlier semi-final on Friday.

The Tar Heels, lead by Aly Messinger’s three goals and two assists, outshot the Blue Devils 34-19 and outscored them 9-2 in a strong second half.