Why is Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse Off To A Slow Start?
Rahill Jaiswal | @RahillJaiswal
Despite still sitting in the top 10, Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse is 1-2 on the young season. At this point last season, the orange were a perfect 3-0. So, what has been the reason behind their sluggish start? Well, to start, the schedule has been brutal. SU opened the season against the defending champions Northwestern. Then last weekend it hosted number 9, Maryland. Two top-10 opponents in the first three games is tough especially considering Syracuse lost its two best players in the offseason. However, it does not get any easier. Syracuse plays number 2 Notre Dame this weekend. The Fighting Irish just upset Northwestern last weekend.
Another issue has been the sloppy mistakes. In Syracuse’s 9-8 overtime loss to Maryland, SU had many chances to win. The Orange got two possessions in overtime but could not convert. They also had a shot clock violation late in the fourth. That can not happen at that point in the game. SU even had chances earlier in the game. The Orange had a breakaway in the first and could not even get a shot on goal. These little mistakes were not happening last year. Now, there is still plenty of Lacrosse left. So, Kayla Treanor’s squad got time to figure out their issues.
Something else that has plagued SU is the lack of production from your leaders. Through the first three games, attacker Emma Tyrrell has struggled. The grad student has only managed five points through the first three games. While that is not bad, people were expecting more. Tyrrell entered the season as a preseason All-American. If Syracuse wants to beat some of the ranked opponents on its schedule, Tyrrell needs to give them more. At this point last year, Tyrrell had ten points. However, she got better looks in the cage because of the attention on Megan Carney and Meaghan Tyrrell.
Something else that has plagued SU is not playing a complete 60 minutes. In the matchup against Northwestern Syracuse struggled in the first half. The Orange entered the half down 11-6. While the second half was better, it was not enough to get the comeback win. In the loss last weekend SU’s play was very inconsistent each quarter. The CUSE could not generate offense in the opening 15 minutes. However, they were able to get the offense flowing in the second and third quarters. SU scored 6 of their 7 goals in that 30-minute stretch. Based on that, you would think Syracuse would keep it up in the final frame. However, the Orange managed only one goal in the fourth plus overtime. Given the firepower on this squad that is shocking. Full credit to Maryland, but SU has to be better in the ladder stages of these games.
Despite everything, Syracuse still sits at number seven in the country and has time to figure it out. It has a chance to get a huge win on Saturday against Notre Dame. Opening draw from South Bend is at noon.
