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For the second consecutive season, Syracuse women’s lacrosse has advanced to the Final Four. Following an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title, the Orange earned the No. 3 overall seed in the national tournament.

SU earned a first-round bye before knocking off Stony Brook 15-10 in the second round in commanding fashion. Then on May 16, the Orange advanced to the Final Four with a 10-goal win over No. 6 seed Yale.

The Orange now face Boston College for the third time this season, this time with a trip to the national championship on the line. The Eagles defeated Princeton 21-16 in the NCAA Tournament second round before beating Michigan 14-9 in the quarterfinals. BC ranks in the top two in Lacrosse Reference’s metrics for offensive (first) and defensive (second) efficiency.

In the first matchup between the teams on April 18, the Orange led 5-3 at halftime, but ultimately fell 11-10 in overtime. Ten days later in the ACC Tournament championship, the Eagles pulled away with an 8-1 second half to win 15-8.

Here’s how our beat writers feel No. 3 seed Syracuse (16-5, 8-1 ACC) will fare versus No. 2 seed Boston College (18-3, 7-2 ACC) in the Final Four in Cary, North Carolina:

Aiden Stepansky
Third time’s the charm
Syracuse 10, Boston College 9 OT

A switch of fortunes. A changing of the ACC guard. The third time’s the charm. Whatever you want to call it, Syracuse is too talented to fall to BC again. In the first matchup, Natalie Smith came inches away from winning the game in overtime. In the ACC title game, Syracuse eventually fell by seven, but had a strong start leading 5-1.

This time around, after being limited to a combined nine points in the first two matchups, I think the tandem of Emma Tyrrell and Emma Ward take over. The duo enters the game riding high, combining for their most points in one game (16) against Yale in the quarterfinals.

Kate Mashewske has also dominated with 35 draw controls across her first two NCAA Tournament games. Mashewske had success in the ACC Championship against the Eagles, but BC’s pressure caused multiple turnovers. Taking care of the ball and distributing quickly out of the circle to maintain possession will be key to her success.

Despite losing the last six games to Boston College, Syracuse has been knocking on the door of victory. Before the seven-goal defeat in the conference championship, the last four losses came by two goals or less. This time in Cary, SU will learn from its prior blemishes and get over the hump that is BC in a one-goal game and fly high into the national championship.

Justin Girshon
Seven in a row
Boston College 12, Syracuse 11

To put it simply, Boston College has owned Syracuse since defeating it in the 2021 National Championship. The NCAA title game win started what’s become a six-game winning streak against SU — including some of the most grueling losses in the program’s history.

The main reason why Syracuse has struggled so much versus the Eagles is because it can’t string together complete games. With how the Orange have played recently, that shouldn’t be a concern. Still, when it played two of its best games of the season versus Louisville and Virginia in the ACC Tournament, SU was stumped by Boston College’s defense despite an early lead.

Like the ACC Tournament, Syracuse has put together two dominant performances to begin the NCAA Tournament. But facing a team where it continuously proves it can’t get over the hump, none of that matters. This Orange team is really good, but the Eagles have shown they are better. I think it will be another classic SU-BC game that comes down to the wire, but another heartbreaker where Boston College prevails.

Timmy Wilcox
Lessons learned
Syracuse 13, Boston College 11

Each time these teams meet it’s a dog fight, and in this matchup expect nothing less. Boston College got the best of Syracuse both times in April, but since the calendar has flipped to May, SU has played with an unstoppable swagger.

Mashewske has led SU to a 73.3 draw control percentage in its first two tournament games, propelling it to outscore Stony Brook and Yale by 15. Receiving an abundance of possessions has allowed the Orange to regain their rhythm on offense.

BC held Tyrrell to just one goal in the other meetings, but entering this matchup, she’s scored 12 goals in her last two games, her most in any two-game stretch this entire season. On the opposite end of the field, the SU defense will limit the production of Rachel Clark and Kayla Martello as it did to Yale’s Jenna Collignon.

Syracuse’s losses to Boston College taught it that it must play a complete game and this time SU is going to complete the task. After second-half collapses in each of the first two matchups against the Eagles, the Orange have not been outscored in a single quarter this tournament.

With the momentum Syracuse has built, not even BC will stop it, as SU will end its six-game losing streak to the Eagles and punch its ticket to the National Championship for the first time under Kayla Treanor.

Published on May 23, 2024 at 11:00 pm