Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange outlast Loyola, 14-12, in back-and-forth battle in Baltimore

‘Cuse came up big in the fourth quarter and added another ranked win to their resume.

The No. 8 Syracuse Orange and the No. 17 Loyola Greyhounds played an exciting game of tug-of-war on Wednesday evening down at the Ridley Athletic Complex, a 14-12 Orange victory as they improved to 6-4 on the season.

It was a fun, fast-paced game of runs where momentum changed hands quickly and game-changing plays could be found at any juncture.

In the end, the Orange were the ones who made the key plays in the fourth quarter of a tie game, most especially on the defensive end where they utilized their zone to halt Loyola’s momentum and give their offense the chance to do enough to win.

To that end, Emma Muchnick was the player of the game with a career-high five goals, including the eventual game-winner early in the fourth. Muchnick’s star turn, a couple key adjustments on draws and defense, and another big performance from Daniella Guyette with 11 saves led the way for ‘Cuse’s third ranked win of the season.

‘Cuse actually never trailed in this one, but their lead oscillated back-and-forth between as many as four goals all the way down to a tie game at various points. They got it started fast in the first quarter by jumping out to a 5-1 lead less than seven minutes into the game,

Loyola fought back with a 5-2 run from the mid-first to the mid-second quarter, bringing it down to a one-goal margin at 7-6. But the Orange closed the half strongly, scoring four goals in the final five and a half minutes to take an 11-7 lead into halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Loyola, as the Greyhounds scored the first four goals out of the break to tie the game at 11 while the ‘Cuse offense struggled with their spacing and turnovers.

SU finally got on the board of the second half in the final minute of the third, to take a 12-11 lead into the fourth. That was incredibly short-lived, however, as the Greyhounds scored off the opening draw 11 seconds in to tie it back up again at 12.

Less than a minute later, ‘Cuse took the lead for good on Muchnick’s game-winner and then leaned on their defensive efforts to see the game out and pick up the win.

This was the kind of game that proves that draw controls are not everything. We knew SU had a difficult challenge on their hands going up against one of the best draw units in the country, and that proved to be the case as Loyola won the draw battle, 19-10, for the game.

‘Cuse was able to offset the effect of that with great effort elsewhere on the field. The Orange dominated the ground ball battle, 23-10, forced 16 Loyola turnovers, and got great goaltending from Daniella Guyette and her 11 saves. On top of that, SU valued possession better than they have all season with only eight turnovers of their own. As a result of all this, ‘Cuse actually outshot Loyola (35-33) despite the big draw control disparity.

Another big factor related to draws was the decision to switch from Joely Caramelli to Meghan Rode (4DC) late in the second quarter. At the time, Loyola was completely dominating restarts, 15-3. Rode was able to have much more success going up against draw ace Chase Boyle, one of the country’s best, and actually held a 7-4 advantage the rest of the way.

It was a fascinating game on defense for SU, who spent the first half primarily employing a bold double-face-guard strategy against Loyola’s two stars, Georgia Latch and Chase Boyle. It worked pretty well, minimizing their touches and causing a lot of 5-on-5 with the two stars and their defenders relegated to the outskirts of the offensive end. It especially worked wonders on Boyle, the Tewaaraton finalist who was held without a point for the first time in roughly three years.

After a strong offensive third quarter from the Greyhounds, the Orange made the bold choice to switch to their standard zone that they’ve mostly stayed away from the past month. It was a risky move, especially since Georgia Latch is one of the best pinpoint passers and assisters in the country.

But ‘Cuse looked like a vintage version of their zone from recent seasons, as they aggressively cluttered the middle of the eight-meter for anyone who dared throw a pass or physically venture to the interior. They forced four Loyola turnovers while only giving up three shots total in the final 15 minutes. The zone itself surrendered nothing since the Greyhounds only goal of the quarter came directly off the draw. It proved to be a brilliant tactical move that effectively helped win the game for SU.

The name of the game for the offense in this one was dodging, as the Loyola defenders had major trouble staying in front of the ‘Cuse slashers for the majority of their goals.

Muchnick (5G, 5GB) ran the show, with her career-high five goals and five ground balls to match. She used a quick first step and change-of-direction to blow past her defenders multiple times.

Gracie Britton (2G, 1A), Caroline Trinkaus (2G, 1A) and Joely Caramelli (2G, 1A) all finished with two goals and an assist, while Emma Ward (1G, 1A) and Mileena Cotter (1G, 1A) both had one of each.

Cotter also added three draw controls, while Alexa Vogelman (1G, 3GB) had the late insurance goal plus three ground balls. Kaci Benoit (4GB, 3DC) had a big game piling up the draws and GBs, and Coco Vandiver (2GB, 2CT) and Joely Caramelli (2GB, 2CT) tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers.

The Orange will be back in action this weekend when they return home and to conference play as they face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, March 23 at 12 PM on ACC Network Extra.