No. 3 Syracuse women's lacrosse plows through snow and No. 14 Virginia in 17-11 win

As far as spring break trips go, this one got off to a much snowier start than anyone would have liked.

The No. 3 Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team started their three-game road trip on Saturday by picking up a win over their fifth ranked team of the season with a 17-11 victory over the No. 14 Virginia Cavaliers in a game that had to be moved from grass to field turf due to the snowy conditions.

Unsurprisingly, Syracuse didn't let a little snow get in the way of their execution. It was a strong effort for the Orange who, for the first time since Binghamton, played a game that was not decided in the final minutes, seconds or overtime.

Unfortunately, we did not have any video of the game because it was moved away from the grass of Klockner Stadium and onto a side field that had field turf, so analyzing the effort is a difficult task. Speaking of which, a big thanks and shout-out to Cameron Ezeir and John Eads for providing some great commentary on Z89 when we had no other options to follow along with the game. Great job, guys!

For example, it’s tough to comment too much on how the defense looked in this one in either strategy or execution, although we can say that giving up only 11 goals to a Virginia team averaging over 16 is a solid effort.

The Orange did commit a lot of turnovers in this game. I counted somewhere in the 18-19 range based on the radio broadcast, but at least some of that has to be chocked up to playing a game in the cold and snow, so I don’t think that’s too much to worry about. In fact, the offense putting up 17 goals even with so many turnovers is a great sign. When SU actually got their shots off today, they buried them on another great day for the Orange shooters.

The Tyrrell sisters had a really strong day overall. Meaghan Tyrrell (5G, 1A) once again led the scoring with five goals, while Emma Tyrrell (3G, 1A) added a hat trick and another haul of draw control wins. Meg Carney (3G, 2A) had a big day with a hat trick and five points, while Emily Hawryschuk (2G, 1A) and Sam Swart (2G, 1A (maybe)) each had multiple-point days. Emma and Sarah Cooper with both big factors in helping Katelyn Mashaweske scoop-up draw control wins, and Kimber Hower had a strong second half after starting slowly.

The first quarter was a sloppy affair as the teams adjusted to playing in the snow, but despite the turnovers, the Orange were still able to put home five goals. The teams were tied at two when Sam Swart found the net twice in a row and Meaghan Tyrrell scored on a bouncer to put SU up, 5-2, at the end of the first.

The Cavaliers started the second quarter hot, scoring two early to bring it down to a one-goal margin at 5-4. But the Orange fired back with a serious vengeance, scoring five consecutive goals to jump out to a six goal lead. The ‘Hoos would stop the run late in the quarter to send the game into the half with a 10-5 SU lead.

Within the big second quarter run, SU scored two goals that registered as big career milestones. First, Meaghan Tyrrell’s third goal of the game was also the 150th of her career, making her only the eighth player in program history to reach that mark. Less than a minute later, Emily Hawryschuk got on the board with the 227th goal of her career, passing Orange legend Alyssa Murray for fourth place on the program list.

The Tyrrell sisters made the major impact offensively for SU in the third, but it was the Cavaliers who won the quarter, 4-3. Meaghan scored the first ‘Cuse goal of the quarter on a free-position opportunity, and then it was Emma scoring twice to help keep UVA at bay despite the Cavs scoring three of four to close the quarter at 13-9.

The Orange started fast in the fourth with back-to-back goals from Carney and Hawryschuk, and after a UVA goal, a third from Maddy Baxter to put SU up, 16-10, less than four minutes into the frame. That’s when the sloppiness took over as the teams traded turnovers for the middle portion of the quarter.

Virginia ended an eight-minute scoring drought by both teams with about three minutes to play, before Meaghan Tyrrell scored her fifth of the day on a back-to-goal, over-the-shoulder finish that we’ll sadly never get to see. Tyrrell’s spectacular goal put the icing on the cake and helped give ‘Cuse the 17-11 win.

The Orange will resume their three-game road trip as they look to find real spring break temperatures on Wednesday, March 16 when they head down to Gainesville to play the No. 12 Florida Gators at 6:30 PM in a game that will be streamed live on YouTube.