No. 15 Syracuse women’s lacrosse (1-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) entered its game with No. 13 Loyola Maryland (2-3, 1-0 Patriot League) as the second-worst offense in the country, averaging six and a half goals an outing. But, it didn’t look that way in the Orange’s 15-7 win over the Greyhounds. It’s the first time SU has netted double-digit goals all year.
“I think we had a very good balance,” Syracuse head coach Regy Thorpe said. “When you get that balance from the offensive side, defensive side, and the draws, it just allows you to make runs.”
A big reason for the offensive success was that balanced attack, especially early on. SU almost reached its scoring average in the first half, with six goals from six different scorers. Thorpe made a lineup change, starting attacker Ashlee Volpe. It paid dividends; the junior had a career-high four assists.
“We needed a spark,” Thorpe said. “We hadn’t been playing well on offense from top to bottom. It was something we had to do. Volpe’s a great player… we just needed something to spark us.”
But it’s one thing to start hot, it’s another thing to stay hot. The ‘Cuse tallied seven goals in the third period, its highest scoring total in a quarter this season by four. Overall, Syracuse had nine different players find the back of the net.
It was a big day for SU midfielder Molly Guzik. The sophomore netted three goals, her first career hat trick. Guzik had two of the seven Orange scores in their big third period.
Guzik with her career-high THIRD goal of the night and we're on 🔟
— Syracuse Women's Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) February 24, 2026
📺 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/rNRKtBcQoD
“It’s all on my teammates,” Guzik said. “They set me up for everything. We play as a unit. Coach Regy talked about that in the locker room, finally clicking on offense, and I think we really showed that tonight. It's not one person out there. It's all of us.”
Guzik wasn’t alone either. Her fellow midfielder Joely Caramelli also had her first hat-trick of the season. The junior had both of SU’s fourth-period goals to help seal the win.
“We talked about looking for more assists,” Caramelli said. “In our first three games, we didn’t really have too many, it was a lot of one-on-one looks. We wanted to prove that we are an off-ball team, and I think we did that tonight.”
This wasn’t just any regular-season win; it was the first collegiate victory for SU head coach Regy Thorpe at the helm.
“I won a lot as a player, a lot as an assistant coach, and as an associate coach,” Thorpe said. “I'm happy for the players and the alumni, but we need to get going here. We're a 1-3 team. So, we're happy, we're enjoying today, but we have to get back to work. We have to get on the board in the ACC.”
Syracuse can continue the momentum as it aims to pick up its first ACC win against Louisville on Saturday at noon. Follow @WAERSports on X for updates throughout the afternoon.