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Syracuse remained at the No. 1 spot in the Inside Lacrosse Women and Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association rankings for a program-best third straight week. Heading into week eight, the Orange (13-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast) picked up home wins over Cornell and Virginia, staying undefeated.

Facing the Big Red in its final nonconference matchup of the season, Syracuse jumped out to a comfortable 10-5 lead in the opening half. Despite leading scorer Megan Carney being sidelined, SU owned the first three periods, winning the third 7-1. With a running clock to start the fourth, head coach Kayla Treanor opted to put the second unit in. During the final 15 minutes, however, the Big Red scored six unanswered to draw within four. But the Orange won 19-13 as Cornell’s comeback attempt ran out of time.

Over the weekend, SU faced then-No. 11 Virginia. After a back-and-forth first quarter, Syracuse took a slim 5-4 lead off of a buzzer-beater from Emma Ward. Ward’s career-high 10 points, combined with Meaghan Tyrrell’s nine, helped lead the Orange to a 21-9 win. The defense allowed just three goals in the second half.

After receiving 21 first-place votes last week, Syracuse had 24 in week eight, garnering 600 total points. Still holding the No. 2 ranking, Northwestern defeated No. 17 Penn State 19-9. The Wildcats’ only loss of the season came in their season opener against the Orange. On Saturday, No. 8 Notre Dame beat then-No. 2 North Carolina at home to send the Tar Heels back to fifth in the rankings. Denver and James Madison have leapfrogged UNV into the No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively.

Going into its final three games of the regular season, SU will play at No. 19 Clemson and No. 5 North Carolina before its finale versus Boston College at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange will play the Tigers on Saturday at 2 p.m.