No. 11 Syracuse women’s lacrosse (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) entered the 2026 season with high hopes. The Orange finished last year in the second round of the NCAA tournament, falling by just a goal to Yale. But this year, SU’s new head coach, Regy Thorpe, who was an assistant coach with the Orange from 2010-19, had a rough debut, falling 9-5 to No. 7 Maryland.
“We got lots of opportunities and we didn’t finish,” Thorpe said about his team’s efforts. “But I thought we battled.”
The Orange certainly had offensive prowess, though, nearly outshooting the Terrapins by 20. In addition, SU also had 15 shots on goal, but just five went into cage. Maryland goalie JJ Suriano continued making save after save, finishing with 16. It tied the junior’s second-highest save total in her collegiate career. Suriano and UMD didn’t even allow SU’s first goal until the second quarter.
Along with goaltending, UMD attacker Lauren Lapointe was a difference maker in the win. The junior totaled five goals in the victory and already notched a hat trick in the first half. The performance tied Lapointe’s career high and was her 12th-career multi-point game in three seasons.
The Terps are in full control at the JMA Wireless Dome.
— ILWomen (@ILWomen) February 6, 2026
Lauren Lapointe with an early hat trick as @MarylandWLax up 6-1 late in the first half.pic.twitter.com/bz0CUe7rkj
The one bright spot for Syracuse was midfielder Caroline Trinkaus who tallied two goals. She opened up the scoring for SU in the second quarter and grabbed another midway through the third. The sophomore was an All-ACC third-teamer last season after totaling 32 goals and 43 points, which were the second-highest totals on the Orange behind attacker Emma Ward.
Well, this loss follows a similar path in the series history between both sides. Despite having won three of the last five matchups, SU has won just three of 25 games against Maryland. This includes a streak of 20 straight losses from 1998 to 2019.
“At this point it’s just focusing on us,” Thorpe mentioned about facing three more ranked opponents in the next few games. “You gotta be efficient, that's gotta be the key.”
Syracuse’s schedule doesn’t get any easier after the season-opening loss. Next up for SU is three straight games against ranked opponents, starting with the best team in the country, No. 1 North Carolina. Following that contest, Syracuse travels across the country to take on No. 5 Stanford and then back home for a late February matchup against No. 18 Loyola Maryland.
The Orange and Tar Heels battle on Friday, Feb. 13 at 2:30 p.m. Follow our X account @WAERSports for live updates throughout the game.
