It’s been an up and down stretch for No. 8 Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse (5-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), but the Orange aim to stay on a high against No. 17 Loyola Maryland (5-4, 2-0 Patriot League).
SU got off to a 3-0 start this season, but immediately dropped three straight after losing Tewaraton watch list attacker Olivia Adamson to a lower-body injury for the season. A 14-13 overtime triumph over sixth ranked Stanford (9-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) broke the skid for Syracuse, but an OT loss by the same score in its next matchup against No. 8 Johns Hopkins 6-2, 1-0 B1G Ten Conference) shattered that momentum.
After that contest, Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor outlined how close games are won or lost.
“It really comes down to little plays throughout the game that make the difference.”
Treanor also talked about the different approach that she, along with the rest of her staff, have to take going into matchups against ranked opponents.
“I think as a coaching staff we’ve got to get creative. I think we’re doing some of the right things but we want to come out on the other side of these games.”
Syracuse did in fact come out on top in its last contest against Pitt on Saturday. The Orange had six players score multiple goals including sophomore Joely Caramelli who notched a hat-trick.
The look ahead to the Loyola matchup is two-fold - it’s a game Syracuse should win, but could very well lose. Like the Orange, the Greyhounds have four loses on the season, but they all came against ranked opponents. Loyola also has two players with more goals than anyone on Syracuse in seniors Georgia Latch and Chase Boyle.
SU boasts an all-time record of 15-4 against Loyola including ten consecutive wins. Last season’s matchup between the two squads was a top-ten battle in which Syracuse came out victorious 16-13. After that win, coach Treanor highlighted the various ways her team could win games.
“We can just be very dynamic because we have a lot of threats.”
That may have been true about last year's team, but the script has flipped this season. Without Adamson, Syracuse is relying on underclassmen such as Caramelli, Caroline Trinkaus, Alexa Vogelman, Mileena Cotter and others to contribute.
So far, those young guns are helping to keep this season afloat for SU. Syracuse aims to stay above water when it visits Loyola Maryland at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Follow along @WAERSports on X for live updates throughout the contest.