Syracuse’s players gathered in front of the goal to link arms in celebration of what looked to be a Kelly Cross goal only to have a referee’s whistle cut the huddle short. The Orange had been called for a crease violation and the score remained 4-2 with 13:56 remaining in the first half.

Connecticut took the ball following the turnover and marched down the field to score a goal 39 seconds later to shorten SU’s lead to one. Instead of letting the Huskies gather momentum, Kayla Treanor corralled the ball behind the net, drew the attention of two Connecticut defenders and slipped a pass through to Riley Donahue.

Donahue took a quick step, faked a shot high and unwaveringly fired the ball past Connecticut’s goalie to bring the lead back to two goals.

“We were getting our shots and getting our opportunities, so we just needed to relax and settle down,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “… It was early in the game and I think we responded well. We went down, put a run together and made that a non-concern.”

Donahue and Treanor’s connection ignited an eight-goal run to end the first half and lifted No. 4 Syracuse (9-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) past Connecticut (7-2, 1-0 American Athletic) in a 17-7 win Tuesday in the Carrier Dome. The pair dominated for the 12 minutes and 11 seconds it took the Orange to unleash its high-powered offense against the overpowered Huskies, amounting for nine of the 15 points in the run, which included three plays where one assisted the other’s score.

The damage only continued following halftime as Syracuse scored the first three goals of the second half as well. Treanor and Donahue, along with the remainder of the starters, watched more than half of the second period comfortably from the sideline.

“We just had a two-on-one and then it was easy to get goals when they play us with one person,” Treanor said.

Donahue notched a goal before the run, but missed three shots early. She wasn’t particularly sharp mentally to start the game, she said.

“Riley,” Gait shouted, creeping onto the field from the sideline with visible frustration. “Move!”

He wasn’t upset, merely trying to help Donahue understand she was open. She soon realized how to better attack the opening in the crease, and with Treanor’s help, was able to explore the advantage on her side of the field and shift momentum back to the Orange.

A little more than two minutes after Donahue’s goal, Treanor sparked a mini-run of her own.

In a span of 1:32, she had broken free from the Husky defense for three goals.

“We need to recognize who’s going to be their go-to person and we kind of shut our brains off,” Connecticut head coach Katie Woods said. “… (Treanor) just lit us up. She definitely kind of had fun with us.”

Donahue followed the hat trick with a score, giving her three goals of her own. But more impressively, she received the ball from Treanor stationed behind the crease, giving the senior captain and two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist four points in two and a half minutes.

The pair fell relatively quiet as Erica Bodt and Cross scored the sixth and seventh goals of the run, but with 28 seconds remaining, Mallory Vehar won the draw control and threw a pass to Treanor.

Before Treanor could even react, the Huskies fouled immediately. Awarded a free position, Treanor quickly fired a pass to freshman Nicole Levy who scored with seven seconds remaining in the half to cap the eight-goal run.

The final whistle of the first half blew and Syracuse jogged to the locker room. Donahue caught up to Treanor who had been close to midfield and bumped sticks with her quickly before moving to enter the tunnel.

Even with 30 more minutes of lacrosse to play, Donahue and Treanor had given their team a commanding lead in the half’s last 12:18 that it wouldn’t relinquish. Syracuse rode the momentum into the locker room and followed it by breezing through the second half.

“We work hard on letting down the pace and continuing to play at our level and keep going,” Treanor said. “We did a great job of that today.”

Published on March 29, 2016 at 9:46 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu