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Back on April 28, Syracuse’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championship hopes ended with a thud. In the semifinals, North Carolina jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the Orange through the first period, holding a 10-2 advantage by halftime. Ultimately, the Tar Heels won 15-9, leaving SU empty-handed in a conference it was expected to win.

Fueled by their historic regular season, the Orange earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament. They faced Johns Hopkins at SU Soccer Stadium, and returned to their regular season form in a dominating 25-8 second-round win. It was SU’s highest-scoring game of the season and the fourth game with at least 20 goals.

Emma Tyrrell led Syracuse to a dominant 12-6 halftime lead, netting four goals through the opening periods and closing with a career-high seven goals. While her sister, Meaghan Tyrrell, tallied a hat trick all in the second quarter, finishing the afternoon with six goals and three assists.

Here’s some observations from Syracuse’s (17-2, 8-1 ACC) blowout victory over Johns Hopkins (9-9, 4-2 Big Ten) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament:

Powerful Start

On the opening draw, John’s Hopkins’ Annie Marshall was called for a yellow card after striking Olivia Adamson on the head. Syracuse took advantage of the early player-up opportunity, scoring twice within the first two minutes of the contest.

Its crisp ball movement around the 12-meter led to a pass inside from Sierra Cockerille to Meaghan, who fired to a cutting Megan Carney. She instantly reared back and put one past John’s Hopkins’ Maggie Tydings, giving the Orange a 1-0 lead.

Still on the power-play, Adamson won the ensuing draw control. She passed back toward Delaney Sweitzer, who came out of the cage to set up SU’s offense. Sweitzer launched a pass to Carney in the Blue Jays’ zone.

Looking to distribute, Carney found an unmarked Cockerille in the middle of the field. She sent a shot into the top right corner of the net as Syracuse increased its lead to 2-0, making Marshall pay for her penalty.

Keeping the pressure

Syracuse held a commanding 11-4 lead 13 minutes into the second quarter. Johns Hopkins attempted to gain momentum going into the second half, scoring twice in 36 seconds.

The Blue Jays methodically moved the ball around the 12-meter with 1:21 left in the period, and they found Campbell Case at X. Case dodged around the cage, placing her shot into the top left of the net to cut John Hopkins’ deficit to six. On the ensuing possession, Bailey Cheetham took matters into her own hands, weaving through a sea of SU defenders and putting a shot past Sweitzer, who extended her stick out too late for a save.

The Orange shut down the Blue Jays gaining from there. With less than 10 seconds remaining in the opening half, Emma sent a shot too high, missing the net and dribbling toward the wall.

Adamson recovered the loose ball and floated a pass to Meaghan, who scored her third goal of the second quarter. With that goal, Meaghan registered her 100th point of the season, becoming the second player in program history to accomplish that feat three times along with Alyssa Murray.

To open the third quarter, Emma ran stride by stride with Georgie Gorelick along the 12-meter, searching to find an open teammate. She saw Meaghan near the right side of the cage, raised her stick and fed it high to her sister. Meaghan corralled the pass and chopped the ball downward, as it got past Morgan Giardina for her fourth goal of the day.

Syracuse’s lead grew to be insurmountable in the blink of an eye. Carney scored off a free-position just 46 seconds later, followed up by Meaghan drawing and converting a free-position goal on the next possession. Natalie Smith made it four goals within the first 1:58 of the second half, and SU held a 16-6 advantage.

Emma’s first-half dominance

Emma quickly asserted her dominance. In the final 5:28 of the first period, she went on a personal 3-0 run. Emma drew multiple fouls giving her a number of free-position opportunities.

Reagan O’Brien fouled Emma, who then converted on the ensuing free-position, giving Syracuse back the lead at 3-2. Just 2:24 later, the Orange again found Emma in front of the net, leading to Hannah Johnson fouling her. Emma charged forward on the free-position and threw a low, bouncing shot to the right of Tydings that squeaked by the goalie, doubling SU’s lead.

As time ticked down at the end of the first quarter, Sweitzer saved a shot from Ava Angello and the Orange started the transition. Carney passed to Emma, who received the ball and dodged a JHU defender to create space. Turning and firing, Emma scored her third goal in the period in as many shots, increasing the lead to 5-2.

Johns Hopkins committed another foul on Emma with 12:40 left in the second period, allowing her to take a third free-position shot. This time, Emma faced Giardina in cage as Tydings was pulled after the Blue Jays’ tough first period. Emma calmly ran at Giardina, sending her shot low and left at the net for her fourth goal of the half. Emma scored three of Syracuse’s four free-position goals in the first half.

Turnovers galore

The Orange and the Blue Jays turned the ball over early and often. In the opening half, SU had 11 Turnovers compared to JHU’s 10. But the Orange did a better job than the Blue Jays at converting on possession changes, scoring twice as many goals despite turning it over one more time.

Down 2-1 just 3:35 into the first quarter, Johns Hopkins scored one of its lone goals off turnovers. Sweitzer lost control of the ball after making a save and the ground ball was picked up by Cheetham, who moved it to Angello near the 8-meter. Coco Vandiver fouled Angello, causing a free-position chance for Johns Hopkins.

Angello’s shot was saved by Sweitzer, but she instantly turned the ball over after an errant pass was intercepted by Jordan Carr. The Blue Jays drew another free-position off the quick possession change, and this time they converted. Ashley Mackin bounced one on the low, left side, sending it past Sweitzer to tie the game at two apiece.

With less than three minutes left in the half, Johns Hopkins was down 10-4, holding possession down in the Syracuse zone. JHU moved with a lack of urgency, meandering around the 12-meter. Vandiver caught Abbey Hurlbrink sleeping, scooping the ball out of her stick and picking up the ground ball.

The turnover led to the Orange drawing a free-position on the other end. Emma Ward netted her lone goal of the contest, increasing their lead to 11-4 and punishing the Blue Jays’ carelessness on the offensive end.

Published on May 14, 2023 at 5:50 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews