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In its first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season, Syracuse trailed 10-6 at halftime to then-No. 2 Notre Dame. Then, the Orange surged to a 6-1 third quarter, defeating the Fighting Irish 16-14.

Against Duke, SU led 10-3 after 30 minutes. Just 29 seconds into the game, Payton Rowley came around the right side of the crease and fired low past Duke goalie Kennedy Everson to give SU a 1-0 lead. Minutes later, SU led 6-1 at the first break.

In its second ACC game of the season, No. 4 Syracuse (3-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 10-goal first half to win 15-8 over Duke (3-4, 0-2 ACC). It was the second time this season that SU reached double-digit goals in the first half, as it scored 13 goals in the opening half of its 18-7 win over Army on Feb. 14. The Orange limited the ACC’s leading scorer Katie DeSimone to two goals, leading to their fourth-straight 2-0 start to ACC play dating back to 2019.

At the 13-minute mark, Duke got its first offensive possession of the day, but SU’s Katie Goodale forced a turnover and took the ball across midfield. Syracuse’s attack worked the ball to Emma Ward at X. Ward then came around to the front of the goal and left her defender trailing behind before doubling SU’s lead.

Syracuse then won its third straight draw control and Kaci Benoit darted down into the Duke defensive zone to set up Syracuse’s offense. Sophomore Meghan Rode finished the possession with a goal. A minute later, Emma Tyrrell scored, which prompted a Duke timeout with the Orange leading 4-0 just 4:04 into the contest.

“I thought we started off the game really well,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said postgame. “(We) came out of the gates, played the way we wanted to (and) executed the game plan”

In the next three minutes, Tyrrell went on an individual 3-0 scoring run. Olivia Adamson deposited passes right to Tyrrell’s cutting stick before zipping the ball into the net to put SU ahead 6-0 at the 7:53 mark.

Syracuse won the first six draw controls behind dominant play in the circle by Kate Mashewske. In the win over Notre Dame, Mashewske led the Orange to an 18-15 advantage in the circle and her success continued a week later.

“My preparation this week just kind of piggybacked off last week versus Notre Dame,” Mashewske said. “(I) just got back to the basics and (I was) just really dialed in. I think that showed today.”

After SU’s early success in the circle, Duke’s Bella Goodwin ended the SU run following Tyrrell’s third goal. The Blue Devils set up a sustained offense, something it hadn’t done in the first seven minutes, and Carolina DeBellis converted the chance, making the SU lead 6-1 at the 6:47 mark of the first quarter.

For the final six minutes of the first quarter, both defenses found their rhythm. Everson and SU goalie Delaney Sweitzer each recorded two saves and the quarter ended with SU leading 6-1. The Orange outshot the Blue Devils 9-4 in shots on goal in the first quarter.

In the first 16 minutes, DeSimone had been held to just one shot. Then, DeSimone forced a turnover on SU’s Coco Vandiver and picked up the ground ball. Sweitzer was caught outside of the crease and DeSimone hurled the ball from beyond the restraining line into the net, cutting the SU’s lead to five.

After both teams traded goals, SU responded with two goals in a minute and a half, including Tyrrell’s fourth of the game, stretching its lead to 10-3 at the half.

In the third quarter, Syracuse continued its dominance in the circle as Mashewske won the opening draw. Duke’s defense stalled SU for the first six minutes of the quarter before Natalie Smith scored, giving the Orange an 11-3 lead at the 8:55 mark.

At the 6:23 mark, Adamson turned the ball over and Madison Beale picked up the ground ball to lead Duke into an offensive set. Goodwin found an opening and ripped a shot, but Sweitzer stood tall to stop the attack. Benoit raced to the deflected shot and darted up the field with the ball before rocketing the ball past Everson.

The goal by Benoit marked the first of her career. It gave SU a 12-3 lead and it held a 13-4 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Duke started to build up momentum in the Syracuse defensive zone with nine minutes left, and Goodale was called for a foul while defending DeSimone. The foul gave DeSimone another free position chance. Again, the SU defense stopped the Blue Devils leading goal scorer as Benoit and Superia Clark crashed toward DeSimone and Sweitzer denied the shot.

“It takes all of us to stop our opponents and also top players,” Treanor said. “So, I think it’s just knowing their personnel and knowing that (DeSimone) is a top player, knowing her tendencies, but really trusting our defense and playing team defense in order to stop them.”

With 8:37 left, Tyrrell recorded her fifth goal of the game to give SU a 10-goal lead. Following a Duke clear Lexi Schmalz, its second-leading scorer from 2023, scored at the 5:41 mark to cut the SU lead to 14-5. Over the final minutes, Duke netted three goals but Syracuse secured a 15-8 win behind its fast start.

“We had talked about this week how we wanted to go early in our possession and attack them right away before they’re set up,” Treanor said. “That’s a defense that changes in and out a lot, so we wanted to kind of attack them before they were set up. I thought we did a great job of that early.”

Published on March 2, 2024 at 2:32 pm

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32