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Whether it was struggling early on versus then-No. 1 Northwestern, late in its double-overtime loss to then-No. 9 Maryland or failing to pull away in the fourth quarter versus No. 12 Stony Brook, inconsistent play hampered Syracuse throughout its 3-3 start to the season.

SU head coach Kayla Treanor has preached all year that she wants her team to play a complete game — something she said the Orange only accomplished versus Duke on March 2.

“If we put it all together and play a complete game, we will be on top,” Syracuse midfielder Natalie Smith said on Feb. 20.

In Blacksburg, the Orange put everything together from start to finish. No. 5 Syracuse (4-3, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed versus Virginia Tech (5-3, 1-2 ACC) in a 15-5 win. SU dominated in all facets of the game, securing its second double-digit win of the season while surrendering its least number of goals. To remain undefeated in ACC play, the Orange’s offense was led by Emma Ward, who notched a season-high six points (three goals, three assists).

Unlike Tuesday, when it took the Orange nearly seven minutes to score their first goal versus Stony Brook, they got on the board quickly versus Virginia Tech. Just over a minute in, SU midfielder Maddy Baxter dashed toward the crease before scoring the game’s first goal.

Though Syracuse earned consecutive free position opportunities after stifling Virginia Tech’s offense, it couldn’t capitalize on either opportunity. From the 12-meter, Smith opted to fire a cross-crease pass instead of taking a shot, which turned into a turnover.

Yet VT’s Kayla Downey turned the ball over on the other end, leading SU midfielder Joely Caramelli to draw a shooting space foul in the Hokies’ crease. Though Caramelli’s free position shot clanged off the pipe, squandering the opportunity.

But even with Syracuse’s missed offensive opportunities, its defense continued its excellent start. At the 9:21 mark of the first quarter, Virginia Tech’s Mary Griffin notched its first shot on goal. While Delaney Sweitzer has struggled thus far this season — only saving 39.5% of shots entering Saturday’s contest — the reigning Inside Lacrosse Goalie of the Year deflected Griffin’s shot away.

The Hokies retained possession, but the Orange’s defense stepped up again, causing one of its seven first-quarter forced turnovers. This gave Syracuse a fast break opportunity off of a successful clear, yet Payton Rowley missed off the post.

While it looked like SU’s early offensive struggles were persisting in Blacksburg — it scored two first-quarter goals versus Stony Brook — the Orange scooped the rebound, giving it another chance. Then, Ward bullied her way near the crease and scored giving Syracuse a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the game.

Though Kate Mashewske won the ensuing draw, the Hokies quickly forced a turnover. But SU’s Katie Goodale responded right back, forcing a turnover of her own to regain possession. This led to the Orange working the ball around VT’s defense before Smith received it on the left side along the 8-meter.

Smith — who’s Syracuse’s second-leading scorer despite only scoring two goals over her last two games — maneuvered her way toward the center of the 8-meter before sniping a side-armed shot past Jocelyn Torres to give SU a 3-0 lead with 5:20 left in the opening quarter.

Over the next three minutes, both defenses played strong, but a crisp pass from Smith to Olivia Adamson off a free position led to Syracuse’s leading goal scorer scoring her first of three goals to give SU a 4-0 lead.

In the final minute of the quarter, Delaney fended off a free-position shot before defender Hallie Simkins picked up the ground ball and successfully cleared it — the Orange successfully cleared 23 of their 27 attempts throughout the game. This led to Baxter drawing a foul 20 seconds later and then scoring a free-position shot to extend SU’s lead to 5-0.

While Mashewske, who controlled a tied for season-high 11 draws, didn’t win the ensuing draw, she helped Goodale win it. Throughout the first quarter, the Orange went 5-for-7 on the draw — SU won 13-of-23 total draws — and their fifth win led to Caramelli’s second goal of her collegiate career with 17 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Commanding a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes, it was the first time SU didn’t allow a first-quarter goal since April 13, 2021.

Just as the first quarter ended, the second quarter began with a draw-control win. Mashewske popped the draw up to herself, igniting a Savannah Sweitzer goal 30 seconds into the quarter.

Though Virginia Tech went on a 2-0 run, the Orange didn’t allow the Hokies to build momentum from there. After a nearly 10-minute scoring drought, Adamson got SU back on the board of a free-position shot with 3:52 until halftime. Then, Savannah scored her second goal a minute late, giving Syracuse a 9-2 lead that it maintained at halftime.

“Something we need to continue to work on is putting together an entire game and having no wall when we come out of halftime when we’re really flat and looked unfocused,” Treanor said after SU’s game versus Army on Feb. 14.

Against then-No. 18 Army, Syracuse dominated, winning 18-7. Still, Treanor was upset with her team coming out of halftime, as the Orange tied the third quarter 2-2.

Versus the Hokies, SU started similarly slow in the third quarter, as they were held scoreless for 10 minutes. But in the final five minutes of the quarter, Ward tacked on two goals while Adamson added another to give Syracuse a 13-3 lead heading into the third quarter.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Orange slowed their offense down and brought in a younger lineup to close the game, yet still tied the quarter 2-2 en route to a 10-goal win.

“We really were focused on this game… We wanted to rebound from our last game,” Treanor said postgame. “So overall, (I’m) proud of them, it’s a tough conference and that’s a good team.”

Published on March 9, 2024 at 2:33 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon