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With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Syracuse cleared, getting the ball to a charging Emma Tyrrell, who was running straight toward the 12-meter semicircle. In a matter of seconds, the Orange sequenced three quick passes from Emma to Emily Hawryschuk to Megan Carney, who ultimately found an unmarked Meaghan Tyrrell right in front of the goal circle.

Meaghan caught the pass and placed the ball right past Stanford’s Kara Rahaim, who had no chance of saving the shot. The Orange went up 10-7, putting away any opportunity of a Cardinal comeback. Meaghan notched her sixth goal, leading all players in both points and goals, and carried an Orange attack that at times struggled.

The six goals from Meaghan fueled No. 3 Syracuse’s (1-0) attack en route to a 12-9 victory over No. 13 Stanford (0-1). Though she was held scoreless in the first quarter, Meaghan picked up where she left off in the second period, recording a hat trick within just five minutes via two unassisted goals and one goal coming off an assist from her sister. While Carney and Hawryschuk struggled to produce offense, Meaghan’s output lifted SU — and its first-year head coach Kayla Treanor — to a season-opening win.

“Meaghan really just stepped up and was able to finish on her opportunities when she got them,” Treanor said. “She overall played really well and was a great shooter.”

Meaghan is coming off a 2021 season where she led Syracuse in points (112), goals (68) and assists (44), earning first team Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association honors. Last season, she helped fill in for Hawryschuk, who was out for almost the entire season because of an ACL injury. Throughout the postseason, Meaghan and Emma Ward fueled the attack as SU’s second-leading scorer, Carney, tore her ACL against Boston College in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

Friday, Meaghan carried the bulk of the SU attack as Hawryschuk and Carney were silenced by Stanford’s defense, only combining for two goals. Notching a 75% shot percentage, Meaghan was the most efficient goal-scorer for the Orange.

After Syracuse scored 50 seconds into the game, Stanford responded with three unanswered goals in a span of four minutes, jumping out to a 3-1 lead. The Orange’s defense was lackluster at times in the opening period, giving Stanford easy opportunities, but after trailing 4-3 at the end of the first period, the following three periods saw Syracuse generate a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

The Cardinal jumped out to a 5-3 lead to start the second period, but soon, on an SU attack, Meaghan found herself with the ball unmarked, just a few meters away on the right side of the goal. She whipped a shot into the top part of the net, cutting the lead to just one goal. Then, just two minutes later, she drove right down the middle shooting the ball on a low-rolling shot to equalize the scoreboard.

Eventually Syracuse regained its lead for the first time since it led 1-0 after Olivia Adamson’s first career goal. Emma had the ball just inside the 12-meter fan as Syracuse was beginning its motions. Emma, seeing her sister cutting across the field from right to left in front of the goal circle, launched a short, quick pass to Meaghan in stride. Meaghan scored, securing SU a 6-5 lead.

“Having those three goals come back-to-back-to-back was definitely a momentum boost for us,” Meaghan said.

Though Annabel Frist leveled the game at six just two minutes before halftime, Syracuse dominated the second half. After Emma put Syracuse in front 7-6 early in the third quarter, Meaghan continued her scoring with a goal similar to her first.

Maddy Baxter found Meaghan wide-open on the right side of the net, meters away from the goal circle. Meaghan caught the pass and immediately shot the ball into the top of the net, extending the score to 8-6, SU’s largest lead of the game at that point.

To open the fourth quarter, Kate Mashewske secured another draw control — an area that Syracuse had a 14-9 advantage — which allowed more attack opportunities for Tyrrell and the Orange. On the subsequent possession, Tyrrell recorded her fifth goal just 48 seconds into the period. The Cardinal responded quickly, but after Tyrrell’s sixth and final goal to make the score 10-7, Stanford couldn’t produce a comeback.

“I’m just very impressed by Meaghan today. I think that she really willed a win today for us,” Treanor said. “There was a lot of great moments and a lot of great plays but Meaghan was just really consistent all game.”

Published on February 11, 2022 at 10:58 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini