NEWTON, Mass. — Syracuse (9-10, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) hadn’t won a game it trailed at halftime this season before Friday. The Orange trailed by four goals at the half to Princeton (13-5, 6-1 Ivy League). But the Orange made it all the way back to force overtime, and another overtime before Colby Chanenchuk scored the winner for Princeton to make it 12-11, Tigers, final.

Syracuse’s season ends in its first game of the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.

Here are three takeaways from SU’s loss.

A bad first

Syracuse’s women’s lacrosse program began NCAA competition in 1998. For the first 20 seasons the Orange played, SU always finished the season with more wins than losses. Friday’s loss to Princeton means Syracuse finishes the 2018 campaign with nine wins and 10 losses.

It’s the first losing season in program history.

A season-ending knee injury early in the season to draw specialist Morgan Widner started the struggles. Riley Donahue’s failure to match last season’s point total even with offensive firepower graduated continued the struggles. And a late-season stretch of futility, in which Syracuse lost six of its final eight games, put the nail in the coffin for the Orange.

Freshman stonewall

Hannah Van Middelem jogged onto the field with less than eight minutes to go in the first half. Syracuse was down, 7-2. The freshman goalie didn’t start a game this season, but gave Asa Goldstock occasional breathers. On Friday, in the Orange’s biggest game of the season, Van Middelem played hero.

She made six saves, allowing four goals. Princeton had a free-position shot with about a minute left in the first overtime but Van Middelem stuffed it with her stick held high. She led the clear and Syracuse had a chance to win it off the possession she won. The Orange couldn’t, but it would live for another overtime because of the freshman keeper.

When the winner went by Van Middelem in the second overtime, SU’s season ended. But the only reason it made it to the second extra period was her performance before that.

Missing star

Syracuse’s Emily Hawryschuk entered Friday with team-high 53 goals. For the first 15 minutes of action against Princeton, she didn’t touch the ball in the offensive zone. The Tigers’ Mary Murphy spent much of the first half faceguarding Hawryschuk, and while she did get two shots, neither were wide open.

Midway through the second half, Hawryschuk’s mark gave her space. She drove right and appeared free, but was bumped. The referee’s whistle didn’t blow, the ball trickled wide and Hawryschuk remained scoreless.

It was the story of the season. Once teams began faceguarding either Nicole Levy or Hawryschuk, one almost always had a low-scoring game. It seemed both could never go off at the same time. On Friday, as the clock ticked down on Syracuse’s season, that narrative remained. Hawryschuk was held off the scoresheet, and it ended SU’s season.

Published on May 11, 2018 at 6:50 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3