Treanor Breaks Record in Syracuse Win Over Louisville 13-10

By Lindsey Horsting
Photo by Kerry Bretti

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It was senior day for the women’s lacrosse team at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, but emotions aside – it was all business.  The No. 5 ranked Syracuse (5-2 ACC) beat No. 7 ranked Louisville (3-4 ACC) 13-10. 

It was fitting that senior attack Kayla Treanor scored two goals putting her on the pedestal as the Orange’s all-time leader in goals with 251.

Her hard work has paid off in great play, awards, and accolades, but on and off the field her greatest strengths are her leadership and being a great teammate, Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said.

“It’s nice to see her step up and get it done, she’s had a great career here,” he said.

Treanor appeared to have scored a goal with one second on the clock before halftime that would have made her the all-time leading scorer before the half, but the play was reviewed and the goal was revoked as the officials ruled it didn’t leave her stick in time.

Her coaches told her it had been revoked in the locker room and when she reached the milestone in the second half it didn’t feel any more or less of an accomplishment, she said.

“We were not doing well in the second half, and we needed a score so it was good to get another goal,” Treanor said.

First Half

Syracuse won the opening draw and went on a 3-0 run with goals by Treanor, freshman attack Nicole Levy, and senior midfield Kelly Cross.

“I thought we played well from the beginning, getting up and controlling the game,” Gait said.

Louisville took a timeout to slow the Orange down and came out of the timeout scoring two goals by senior defense Courtney Boyd and senior midfield Courtnee Daley.

It was back-and-forth as Syracuse scored two goals and the Cardinals responded with two goals.  Syracuse went on another 3-0 run to end the half, giving Syracuse the lead 8-5.  Levy had three goals at the end of the half.

Second Half

In the second half the teams went point for point until the Cardinal’s Daley scored her fifth goal of the afternoon with 15:59 left in the game, closing the gap to 11-9.  Cardinals' sophomore midfield Jillian Balog then scored making it 11-10.

But Syracuse goalkeeper Allie Murray made two saves to help the Orange maintain the lead.

With under seven minutes remaining in the second half Treanor scored the 251^st goal of her Syracuse career on an assist by sophomore attack Riley Donahue, putting the Orange up 12-10.  Senior attack Halle Majorana scored on an assist by senior midfield Erica Bodt to give the Orange the lead 13-10. 

The Orange then played keep away for most of the remaining minutes.

Syracuse scored on four of six free position shots and five of those attempts came in the second half.  Louisville scored on six of nine free position shots.

Accomplishments

Louisville senior midfield Kaylin Morissette leads the nation in draw controls per game.  Treanor had 12 draw controls against Morisette who had four.

“I thought that was her biggest feat of the day was dominating the best draw control person in the country,” Gait said.

Treanor finished the game with two goals and three assists for five points.  Levy had three goals for three points and Bodt had one goal and two assists for three points.

It was a sentimental day for Bodt.

“We’ve had so many good memories here together and this is something we’ll never forget,” she said.  “This will always be ‘Home in the Dome’.”

Louisville’s Daley finished with five goals for five points and sophomore Madison Hoover had two goals and one assist for three points.

Up Next

The win against the Cardinals gives Syracuse the No. 2 seed for the ACC tournament that kicks off on Thursday April 28 in Blacksburg, Virginia.  The Orange will face off against Boston College in the quarterfinal game. The Eagles upset the Orange at BC 13-8 on March 19.

Treanor Shines as Syracuse Defeats Louisville 13-10

By Kerry Bretti 

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Number four ranked Syracuse stopped No. 8 Louisville 13-10 on the Orange’s “Senior Day” and final game of the regular season at the Carrier Dome Saturday afternoon. Syracuse jumped out to a 3-0 start and led the entire game, although the Cardinals got within one at 11-10 late in the game. Senior Kayla Treanor became Syracuse’s all-time career leader in scoring with 151 goals.

“I feel really lucky to have been able to play here and have played with such good players,” Treanor said. “There are a lot of people before me that set the path and without my teammates I would have never gotten these opportunities. Without playing on such good teams you don’t get as many opportunities as I’ve been so fortunate to have.”

“She’s had a great career here." Orange head coach Gary Gait said. "She’s been tremendous not just on the field but off the field as a leader and a great teammate. Those are probably her true strengths. The leadership she exemplifies and the result is the great play, the awards, the accolades but really what she brings to the team are the intangibles and the leadership.”

Treanor led the Orange in points with two goals and three assists. Freshman Nicole Levy wasn’t modest on senior day, registering a hat trick for the Orange. Kelly Cross scored a pair of goals for the Orange and Erica Bodt added one goal and two assists. The Orange took 25 shots and scored on four of six free positions.

“I’ve learned a lot [from Treanor] obviously,” Levy said. “I’ll continue to learn and look up to her. She’s helped me as a player and a person. She’s helped me develop on and off the field.”

Treanor also thrived at the draw circle. Before this game, Louisville’s Kaylin Morissette was the nation’s leader in draw controls. The Orange won that battle, possessing 16 of 25 draws. Treanor beat Morissette, grabbing 12 to Morissette’s four.

“To have 12 draw controls against the number one draw control person in the country, who only had four, is amazing,” Gait said. “Her biggest feat of the day was dominating the top control person in the country.”

Louisville scoring was led by Cortnee Daley who finished with five goals. Madison Hoover followed with two goals and one assist and Hannah Koloski also added a pair of goals. The Cardinals took 20 shots and capitalized on six of nine free positions. Louisville was able to pull within one goal with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game but never scored thereafter.

“Louisville is a good team, they didn’t give up but the good thing is that we had answers,” Gait said.

Syracuse registered 14 turnovers to Louisville’s seven and the defense only had four caused turnovers to Louisville’s seven. Louisville tallied 36 fouls and three yellow cards. Syracuse capitalized on two of the three man-up opportunities. The Orange committed 21 fouls.

Allie Murray played the full 60 minutes in cage for the Orange, saving five shots on 15 shots on goal. Louisville’s Kelly Gielner also played the full 60 minutes and tallied four saves on 17 shots on goal.

With the win, Syracuse improves to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. Louisville drops to 12-4 overall and 3-4 in ACC play.

Next up, Syracuse will play Boston College in the ACC tournament in Blacksburg, Virginia on Thursday, April 28. The Orange lost to the Golden Eagles,13-8 on March 19.

“It’s an opportunity for us to prove that we can get over the hump with them again and having lost to them at Boston College,” Gait said. “I think the players are very excited to have an opportunity to play them again.”.

Syracuse Women's Lacrosse vs Louisville Photos

Syracuse, N.Y -- The Syracuse Women's Lacrosse team made the most of Senior Day at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, beating Louisville 13-10. Senior Kayla Treanor became SU's all-time leading goal scorer, picking up two and three assists as well. Here is a look at the game in photos by Kerri Bretti. Click on any picture to start slide show.

Orange gets defensive versus Binghamton, 13-5

By Zach Francis

Syracuse, NY - For a team that has struggled to stop opponents recently, and was desperately trying to gain some momentum heading into next week's ACC tournament, the Syracuse men's lacrosse team needed a strong performance. That's what it gave Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome.as Syracuse (8-4) defeated Binghamton (4-8) 13-5.

After not allowing a goal for the final 12:23 last Saturday against North Carolina, the Orange held the Bearcats without a goal for the first 36:35. Syracuse led 9-0 at the half.

The scoreless half was the first defensively for Syracuse since April 14, 2015 against Hobart. Syracuse won that game 18-5.

"We tried to jump on them early, and a little later we started to show a little fatigue, but all in all it was a good win for us," head coach John Desko said. "There's been a real focus in the last few weeks on our team defense. I thought we did really well, and pretty well against Cornell. Even better against UNC. We were a little slow at times today, but I thought we did pretty well."

This was the fourth game in 14 days for the Orange.

Offensive Onslaught Early

After winning the opening faceoff, Syracuse took just 66 seconds to put the ball in the back of the net, courtesy of Nick Mariano. Just another minute and a half later, Tim Barber scored his 19th goal of the season for an early 2-0 lead.

A strong defensive effort by both teams kept the game close for the remainder of the quarter. Mariano scored his second goal of the quarter with 14 seconds to go. After the Orange got the clear, Mariano got the ball just inside midfield and raced the rest of the way to the net. Cutting just before the crease, he flipped the ball around his back and right past Binghamton goalkeeper Tanner Cosens.

Mariano finished with a game high four goals. He now leads the team with 29 goals on the year.

"My teammates just keep setting up good shots for me," Mariano said. "I'm just trying to do what I can with what I'm given."

The Orange scored five more goals in the second quarter including two straight by Dylan Donahue in a minute and forty seconds. That extended the local product's scoring streak to 51 games, the longest streak in the country. Donahue leads the Orange with 27 assists on the year to go along with his 21 goals.

"Offense is always a work in progress," Donahue said. "I'm just trying to do whatever they need me to do. We're really just now starting to figure out who we are, and we're just playing well together."

Goal Play Key

Two dominant performances in goal kept this game much closer than it appeared. Evan Molloy recorded four saves and only one goal in 38 minutes. A strong performance by the defensive front kept the Bearcats out of the goal for the first 37 minutes.

"Sliding recovery has been a key for us the past couple of weeks," defenseman Brandon Mullins said. "I thought we had a good showing against UNC and our momentum carried over into this game. Hopefully that carries over to the ACC tournament."

Struggling goalkeeper Warren Hill saw 15 minutes of action in the second half, and he made some strides to getting his confidence back after being rattled for much of the season, especially during the Orange's three game losing streak.

He bounced back in this one with three saves including a quick reaction save of a shot from just outside the crease.

The performance of the night came from Cosens for Binghamton. In 56 minutes, he came away with a season high 14 saves. His career high is 16 against Vermont last season. In facing 42 shots, he allowed all 13 goals, but stopped or affected many more than that.

"I thought he saw too many shots, but I thought he played well," Binghamton coach Scott Nelson said. "He had nine saves in the first half, which is a pretty good day. Thank God he played well. Otherwise it could have been really ugly."

Next Up

Syracuse will have the next nine days off before playing in the ACC tournament. The Orange men have the chance at the second or the fourth seed depending on the result of UNC vs Notre Dame. No matter the seed, the Orange will play the Tar Heels in the first round.

Orange Beats Binghamton 13-5 Before Heading to ACC Semifinal

By Lindsey Horsting

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange continued its winning record against the Binghamton Bearcats Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome with an easy 13-5 win.  Syracuse holds a 5-0 record over the New York foe.  

Junior attack Nick Mariano led the charge with 4 goals.  Mariano credited his team with putting him in good position to score and succeed.

“They’re getting good dodges, they’re drawing slides for me and I’m just trying to get my shot from outside and off-ball,” he said.

This was the fourth game the Orange played in 14 days .  The team came out strong against the Bearcats in the first half but Binghamton showed some fight in the second half as the Orange’s schedule looked like it might be wearing on the team and Syracuse head coach John Desko gave some of his bench players some time on the field.

“We wanted to come out focused and try to jump on them early in the game and I think as the game went on we showed there was a touch of fatigue there, a couple mental errors, some turnovers,” Desko said.  “It was a good win for us.”

First Half

The Orange held a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Mariano had two goals, and senior midfielder Tim Barber and junior midfield Jordan Evans had one goal apiece.

In the beginning of the second quarter the Bearcats held the Orange scoreless until 4:17 before halftime. Then Syracuse unleashed five goals before the break.  Red shirt senior attack Dylan Donahue had back-to-back goals, and junior midfield and faceoff man Ben Williams, red shirt junior Sergio Salcido, and red shirt sophomore Matt Lane each scored one goal.

Despite have let nine goals in, Binghamton junior goalie Tanner Cosens had nine saves at the break.  At half time Syracuse had outshot Binghamton 24-11.  During the Syracuse scoring drought early in the second quarter the Bearcats had multiple opportunities to score and close the gap but were unable to capitalize Binghamton head coach Scott Nelson said.

“We have some pretty good dodgers in the midfield and they didn’t do a very good job tonight,” he said.

The Orange defense played a factor in the Bearcats' first half struggles.

“I think there’s been a real focus for the last few weeks that our team defense and our sliding and recovering and I thought it did really well,” Desko said.

Second Half

Salcido opened the scoring in the second half for the Orange.  Binghamton junior midfield Matthew Kaser scored the first goal for the Bearcats with 8:15 left in the third quarter leaving the Orange up 10-1.

Syracuse switched senior Warren Hill for red shirt junior Evan Molloy with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter and Hill would play the remainder of the game.

Orange graduate student attack Nick Piroli scored the last goal of the night for Syracuse with 9:00 remaining.  Binghamton scored three goals in the last nine minutes.

Key Performances

Mariano finished the game with five points: four goals and one assist.  Barber and Donahue finished with three points each; Barber had one goal and two assists and Donahue had two goals and one assist.

Binghamton red shirt sophomore Sean Gilroy had a team-high three points with two goals and one assist.  Cosens finished the game with 14 saves.

“I thought our goalie played well,” Nelson said.  “I thought he saw too many shots, too many good shots you know, but I thought he had a good night.”

Syracuse won the faceoffs 15-5.

Remembering Pearl

Dwayne "Pearl" Washington was remembered before the lacrosse game.  The Syracuse basketball legend  died Wednesday after a struggle with cancer and at the post-game press conference.

 Desko reminisced about Washington’s half court shot to beat Boston College

“It was great to see that highlight up there and we’ll probably never forget number 31,” he said.

Up Next

The Orange will face North Carolina in the ACC Semifinal Friday April 29 in Kennesaw, Georgia.  The time of the game is yet to be determined.

Iron Pigs sweep double-header

By Yonah Perline
Photo courtesy Syracuse Chiefs

Syracuse, N.Y. -- the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs came from behind in both ends of a doubleheader at NBT Bank Stadium, Wednesday, to edge the Syracuse Chiefs at the start of a home stand.


Game 1

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3 - Syracuse Chiefs 2

Iron Pigs capitalize on shaky defense 

The game started well for the Syracuse Chiefs, who scored two in the bottom of the third, and their starter, Paolo Espino (0-1), hadn't allowed a hit or walk through the first three innings. But, Iron Pigs second baseman Darnell Sweeney started the fourth with a single through the right side, and things went downhill from there. After a wild pitch, Taylor Featherston grounded one deep into the shortstop hole, and Trea Turner gathered it, but could not make a throw. With runners on first and third, Espino struck out four-batter Nick Williams to get the first out, but the next play changed the course of the inning and game.

Andrew Knapp hit a short dribbler down the first base line but first baseman Matt Skole's throw to first was high and Scott Sizemore had to jump off the bag to catch it. Knapp was safe and the play was counted as a single, but it should've been an out. 

"Obviously that's a play we gotta make," Chiefs manager Billy Gardner said. "I think [Skole] just got caught up thinking of going to home when he should've just went straight to first."

With one run in, one out, and runners on first and second, Brock Stassi one-hopped the right-center field wall for a double and an RBI to tie the game at two. Cedric Hunter followed with a sacrifice ground ball to put the Iron Pigs ahead 3-2. Espino got Will Venable to pop out to end the inning. 

Paolo Espino took the loss after tossing six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, no walks, and striking out six. He was solid except for one inning. 

Iron Pigs pitcher Jake Thompson threw six innings as well, but allowed only two runs, both coming in the bottom of the third, on six hits, three walks, and two strikeouts. Chiefs' shortstop Trea Turner was the only player comfortable against him as he hit three singles including a bunt single on the first pitch of the game. 

Edward Mujica struck out Chiefs' second basemen Scott Sizemore looking on a 91-mph outside fastball in the bottom of the 7th to earn the save in just 10 pitches.

Game 2

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 5  Syracuse Chiefs 4

Martin blows save opportunity 

The Iron Pigs used a four-run 7th inning to spoil a potential Chiefs victory. Up 4-1, closer Rafael Martin didn't even record an out before serving up the game-tying three-run home run to Darnell Sweeney. And with a brand new inning, Martin let the go-ahead run on base in Tyler Featherston, who hit a double. The two next batters, Cameron Perkins and J.P.Arencibia, struck out and didn't advance the runner or get a hit, but with two outs and and Featherston still on second, Tommy Joseph delivered a ground-rule double to put the Iron Pigs ahead 5-4. 

"Normally he finishes that game off," Gardner said of Martin. "I don't think his stuff was there tonight like he normally has." 

The Chiefs had an opportunity to come back against the Iron Pigs closer, Luis Garcia, in the bottom of the 7th, but they couldn't cash in after two one-out singles. With runners on the corners, Matt Skole struck out looking, and Brian Goodwin grounded out to short to end the game. 

Syracuse put two runs on the board in the 2nd inning, and then tacked on one run in both the 3rd and 4th innings, which made it 4-0. The Iron Pigs scored one in the top of the fifth, which set up their improbable four-run 7th. 

Iron Pigs pitcher Gregory Infante earned the win with two shutout innings of relief, and Garcia got the save. Syracuse starter Aaron Laffey went just three innings, but allowed no runs. Martin blew the save opportunity and took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks. 

There were 24 hits in the game compared to just 10 in the first.

Both teams' shortstops led the offenses: Syracuse's Trea Turner went 5-8 on the day, while Tyler Featherston went 5-7. 

Syracuse Women Edge Cornell with Strong First Half

By Kerry Bretti

ITHACA, N.Y.- The Number 4 ranked Syracuse Women's Lacrosse team handed No. 20 Cornell its third loss of the season and first at home Tuesday evening on Schoellkopf Field, defeating the Big Red 9-7. The Big Red had only lost twice this season; once at No. 1 Maryland and most recently at No. 11 Princeton.

Syracuse led the entire game, fueled by a strong first half. The Orange led 5-2 at the break behind a pair of goals from Kayla Treanor. Nicole Levy and Taylor Gait also added two goals each for Syracuse. 

Almost 11 minutes passed in the middle of the second half without either team scoring.

“I thought we played pretty well in the beginning even though we didn’t shoot well in the first half we came out in the second half a little better focused on the shooting,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said.

Finishing without Majorana

Offensive power Halle Majorana received two yellow cards and was ejected from the game with 18:57 remaining in the second half. Majorana finished with two assists. Syracuse went three for six on free position shots.

“It happens. I just told her I was happy she was riding hard,” Gait said. “She needs to learn how to control her stick a little bit better but I love the effort she was giving throughout that first forty minutes she did play. She put in a solid effort on that side.”

Big Red keeps after it

Cornell was led by Aime Dickson with two goals and one assist. Joey Coffy followed with two goals, including one with five seconds left in the game. The Big Red went one for five on free position shots.

“They didn’t give up. It was all a team effort on their part,” Gait said of Cornell. “We had it pretty much in control up 9-4 with a few minutes left and they scrapped hard to get the ball back and get a couple quick goals.”

In the goal, at the draw, on the ground

Allie Murray played the full 60 minutes in cage for the Orange. Murray was active, causing two turnovers and scooping four ground balls. Murray made five saves on 12 shots on goal.

Cornell’s Renee Poullott also played the entire game. Poullott tallied six ground balls while saving ten saves on 19 shots on goal.

Cornell won the battle at the draw circle, grabbing ten of 18 draws. The Big Red also came up with more ground balls, taking 16 of 30. Cornell did have more turnovers, though, committing 17 to Syracuse’s 12.

“Kids are making mistakes and we need to sharpen it up,” Gait said.

With the win, Syracuse improves to 13-4 and Cornell drops to 10-3.

Next

The Orange hosts ACC rival Louisville at noon on Saturday in the Carrier Dome in the regular season finale.

Cornell is at Harvard in an Ivy League game on Saturday afternoon at 3:00.

Slide show of the game - http://sce2014.blogspot.com/2016/04/syracuse-vs-cornell-wlax-photos.html