Syracuse women’s lacrosse star Emily Hawryschuk out for season with torn ACL

On Thursday evening, Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse fans’ worst fears were confirmed with the news that star graduate student Emily Hawryschuk will miss the remainder of the 2021 season due to a torn ACL in her right knee that she suffered in practice last Friday.

Emily announced the news herself on her Twitter and Instagram accounts:

First and foremost, this is absolutely terrible for Emily. She and her fellow seniors made a decision in the offseason to come back to campus for one more season, one more shot at the program’s first ever championship. Now, she will not be able to be on the field with her teammates as they chase that dream. We wish Emily all the best in her recovery. As you can tell from her post above, she’s a fighter.

On the field, this is brutal news for the women. They were unquestionably one of the top contenders for championship weekend, and to be clear, THEY STILL ARE. Anyone who watched the ladies dismantle Stony Brook last weekend without Emily is able to see that.

However, there’s no getting around the fact that when a team losses arguably the best player in the entire sport, that team is going to be negatively impacted by the loss.

Hawryschuk is, after all, one of the best players in program history. When she scored five points in this season’s opener against Loyola, Emily moved into fifth place on the Orange’s all-time points list with 254. She also ranks fifth in career goals.

Additionally, head coach Gary Gait said today at his press conference that fellow graduate student midfielder Vanessa Costantino will also be out for the rest of the season. Costantino had not appeared in a game yet this season, but did serve as a team captain as a senior last year.

The good news for the ladies is that there is incredible talent and depth on this team, and even without Emily and Vanessa, they will still be contenders for championship weekend. They already proved it with their performance against Stony Brook last weekend.

The leadership of the fifth-year seniors will be a big factor in how far this team goes this year. And counted among those whose leadership will be critical for this team? Emily Hawryschuk. As she said in her announcement:

While my minutes on the field for this season will be cut to just 60, I am ready to embrace my new role on this team. I am keeping the promise I made to my teammates at the beginning of the season — give them my absolute best every day. I am proud to be a part of this team, I am proud to be a part of the Syracuse family and I am beyond excited to see what this team can and will accomplish this season.

There are a great many things that Emily Hawryschuk does well. While her physical tools are no longer available to the 2021 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team, her mental and emotional tools will be paramount to the rest of this team’s season. She is now a coach, ready to offer her experience and wisdom to her fellow teammates. No one on this team has seen more and done more than Emily Hawryschuk, and that’s what she’ll use to help this team accomplish its dreams. As she closed with,

#51 is not signing off just yet.

Tune in to see what the ladies do this Saturday, March 6 at 1 PM on ACC Network Extra, when they travel down to Durham to open ACC play against the No. 11 ranked Duke Blue Devils. Let’s Go Orange!!