Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange’s season ends with 8-7 loss to Boston College in Final Four

The Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team’s 2023 season has come to an end after their 8-7 loss to the Boston College Eagles in the National Semifinals on Friday night down in Cary, NC.

For the second time in as many games against BC this season, the Orange had the lead or the game was tied for almost the entire game before the Eagles finally got ahead late to take the win away. This time, it was a Kayla Martello free position with 3:31 remaining that put them ahead for good.

That goal from Martello finished off a three-goal run to end the game as BC once again played the comeback role to secure a win. Meanwhile, SU’s fourth quarter woes against the Eagles crept back up as they entered the final frame with a 7-5 lead before getting shut out 3-0 in the final 15 to lose the game 8-7 and head home for the summer.

The defense did everything they could to hold off the Eagles all game long, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on enough of those chances given to them by their cohorts, especially in their scoreless fourth quarter.

The defense did an outstanding job of suffocating the BC offense, severely limiting the number of looks they got on goal. BC finished with only 17 total shots while turning the ball over 20 times, 11 of which were caused by SU and a handful of which were shot clock violations. To hold an offense as talented as BC’s to more turnovers than shots for an entire game is an incredible accomplishment.

Unfortunately, that effort went for naught as the ‘Cuse offense produced their season low in goals with seven and tied for their season low in shooting percentage (25 percent). After catching the Eagles off guard by exploding for three goals in the game’s opening five minutes, they went down quietly with only four the entire rest of the way.

The offense did almost nothing with all of the extra opportunities provided them by BC’s 20 turnovers. Their decision making was questionable at times and their ball movement was lacking as they became flustered by BC’s defense.

Mostly, they struggled to adjust to BC’s defense high-pressuring out on them all night. SU’s ball carriers never really got comfortable and the offense failed to move the ball efficiently against the pressure. As a result, BC was routinely forcing ‘Cuse to waste large portions of their shot clocks, giving them much less time to create solid scoring opportunities for themselves.

When they were able to get good looks, they ran into Shea Dolce, who played really well with seven saves and a .500 save percentage. The freshman goalie single-handedly stole some goals off the board from the Orange. The combination of their defensive pressure and Dolce in net proved to be a lethal one for the ‘Cuse offense and the Orange’s season.

Olivia Adamson (1G, 2A, 8DC) led SU with three points on offense and did a really nice job on draw controls, winning eight of the Orange’s 11 draws to herself. Emma Ward (2G) scored two of the first three early goals, but then went scoreless the rest of the game. Meg Carney (1G, 1A) added two points in her final game in an Orange uniform.

Emma Tyrrell (1G), Maddy Baxter (1G), and Natalie Smith (1G) all scored a goal, while Sierra Cockerille (1A) had an assist. Meaghan Tyrrell went pointless on one shot in the final game of her Syracuse career as she was face-guarded and taken out of the game by BC freshman Shea Baker.

Defensively, Delaney Sweitzer (3SV, 6GB, 4CT) did not have a very good game between the pipes with only three saves and a .273 save percentage. However, she did play an integral part in helping hold down BC’s shooting opportunities as she picked off four passes and caused more turnovers than anyone in the game. Katie Goodale (1GB, 3CT, 2DC) had a really good game, as well, as she caused three turnovers and drew two charges.

The Orange’s season ends in disappointment as they fall short of the ultimate goal. This team had the talent for legitimate championship aspirations, but they weren’t able to get it done in the end. And now, it’s time to turn the page.