Syracuse women’s lacrosse (7-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has certainly carved its own identity this season. The Orange simply refuse to allow teams to get comfortable offensively, and most importantly, score.
SU added another opponent to its growing list of teams to record their lowest goal total of the season with a 6-5 win over 20th-ranked Virginia (5-6, 3-3 ACC) on Saturday.
“Hats off to the defense, they’ve been our anchor all year. We have to be a little better offensively, but we weren’t horrible,” said head coach Regy Thorpe after the win.
Syracuse forced 19 turnovers, marking the seventh effort in a row of 15-plus forced errors. Additionally, the five goals recorded by the Cavaliers marked a season low, as did the nine shots on goal.
Virginia also became the eighth different opponent this season that SU held to its lowest offensive output of the year, joining Maryland, Stanford, Loyola Maryland, California, Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Yale. The Orange are 6-2 in those contests.
“We stymied them today. These hockey scores, it seems like a hockey score the last four, five, six, seven, eight games,” said Thorpe after the game.
The opening frame saw nearly half of the game’s production. Orange midfielder Molly Guzik drew first blood for Syracuse with a free-position goal for her team-leading 25th tally of the season.
UVA midfielder Kate Galica answered from point-blank to even the score at one apiece, before SU midfielder Mileena Cotter rifled one through for her first score in four games.
Annie Parker finds Mileena Cotter cutting to the cage for the Orange's second goal of the day🍊
— Syracuse Women's Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) March 21, 2026
📺 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/JrmQLW7XvA
Virginia answered once more on a quick shot by attacker Jayden Piraino, who simply guided a lob pass from Galica past SU netminder Daniella Guyette to bring the game even once more.
The Orange added goals from midfielder Annie Parker and Guzik a second time to take a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers bundled a pair of goals from Piraino and Galica just minutes apart to knot the game at 4-4.
Some quick ball movement near the UVA net allowed SU attacker Ashlee Volpe to convert from close range and give Syracuse a 5-4 advantage at the break.
The second half had just two goals: a breakaway by Syracuse midfielder Caroline Trinkaus with eight minutes in the third quarter, and an upper-90 conversion by Virginia midfielder Livy LaVerghetta midway through the final quarter.
Caroline Trinkaus scoops up the errant pass and takes it to the other end to extend the Orange lead 🍊
— Syracuse Women's Lacrosse (@CuseWLAX) March 21, 2026
📺 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/xN92lDmve0
Syracuse was held scoreless for the last 23:34 of play. Despite the struggles offensively, SU managed to stave off a late surge from the Cavaliers, who were on a woman-up chance after a yellow card was shown to Orange midfielder Joely Caramelli with less than a minute to play.
A big reason for the win today were the contributions from Guzik in the draw circle. The sophomore outdid Virginia’s specialist Galica 5-4 on the day, which led the Orange to a 7-6 total advantage in draws.
“I’m proud of our draw unit. Virginia is one of the best draw units in the country. To come out on top by one was a huge bonus for us, and we needed every possession," Thorpe said.
UVA entered the game ranked 33rd nationally in draw control percentage at .564, with Syracuse hanging steadily behind at 94th and a win rate of just .433.
The string of wins is the longest streak for the ‘Cuse since it won nine consecutive games in 2024 en route to a national championship appearance.
SU continues its season on Tuesday against UAlbany at 3 p.m. Follow @WAERSports on X for live updates throughout the game.
