Natalie Smith, Jenny Markey step up in key role replacing injured Emma Tyrrell

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The day before No. 4 Syracuse hosted top-ranked North Carolina, the Orange lost their third-best point-scorer, Emma Tyrrell, to a season-ending injury. When the game started, Jenny Markey stood within the Orange’s draw unit in Emma’s place. 

Markey’s play at the draw was necessary to keep Syracuse in the game. With the Tar Heels up by one in the last minute of the first quarter, Markey quickly secured a draw control and zoomed past Emily Nalls to set up a Meaghan Tyrrell equalizer. But the Orange still needed secondary options to replace Emma’s production to maintain their lead.

Natalie Smith stood at the midpoint of the UNC zone in the last minute of the first half and took control of the attack. Instead of passing, she charged toward the net past defender Olivia Dirks before scoring. Smith finished the game with a hat trick, and head coach Kayla Treanor praised the players who stepped up in the defeat in Emma’s absence.

“(Emma) was having a tremendous season,” Treanor said. “And we have a lot of players that stepped up and made huge plays for us throughout the game.”

Smith and Markey have played an important role in filling Emma’s position on the field. Both players’ skill sets accumulate when it comes to replacing the junior midfielder. Smith stands atop the 8- and 12-meter lines, driving much more into the lane compared to Emma. This has helped Smith become Syracuse’s fourth-best scorer in its past four games. Meanwhile, Markey has seen more time in the draw circle along with improved shooting and has secured more draw controls since Emma’s injury.

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This isn’t the first time Markey has played a similar role to Emma. Both players went to Mount Sinai (New York) High School and shared similar on-field characteristics. Peter Van Middelem, one of Emma and Markey’s high school coaches, said the two players were similar since Emma and Markey both were attacker-midfielder types who were also crucial in the draw circle.

Van Middelem said that even though the Mustangs’ roster consisted of star players like the Tyrrell sisters and Stony Brook’s Rayna Sabella, Markey’s style of play made her stand out. Van Middelem said that Markey was a faster player than Emma, which helped her get toward the net.

“It’s not only having the ability to dodge hard or get in the lane as fast as you can, but also now having that quickness before the defense converges on you (in order) to put a high quality shot where the goalie is not really looking,” Van Middelem said of Markey’s training.

Taking those high quality shots is something Markey has excelled at and that she improved on at Mount Sinai, Van Middelem said. Markey was able to learn to shoot at a higher level as the Mustangs faced some of the top schools in the country, he said.

Markey still trains with top NCAA players on Long Island, including North Carolina’s leading point-scorer Jamie Ortega, where the two work on understanding how goalies think, Van Middelem said. For example, if a player is coming down the left side of the field, goalies are taught to protect the short side, so Markey has learned to shoot to the far side of the net.

Like Emma and Markey, Smith also uses high-level dodging to her advantage. Smith has created her own specific dodging move over the years which Smith’s sister, Olivia, compared to that of her former UPenn teammate,Taylyn Stadler.

The move was a two-step dodge that smaller and quicker attackers used. According to Olivia, the second an attacker plants off the second step, Smith would basically be gone. Still, it is a move that has been perfected over time.

“We've been practicing her dodging, and honestly now we've been trying to get the spacing down on that specific dodge, making sure she's not dodging too close (to defenders),” Olivia said.

Smith has been able to learn these skills from Olivia, who was a Division I defender. But that only went so far as Smith’s stutter-step dodge from high school, which was something collegiate lacrosse players were going to stop. So Smith continued to build on the dodge and wait for an opportunity.

And when that consistent opportunity came in 2022, Olivia noticed, particularly in the UNC game, that Smith mastered her dodging ability in one-on-one matchups. What impressed Olivia was that Smith was going up against elite Tar Heel midfielders like Dirks and Ally Mastroianni and beating them. Smith’s first hat trick of the season was the start of her 11 points in the last four games.

Against Cornell, Smith replicated her performance versus the Tar Heels. With over a minute left in the first half, Smith used her quick two-step dodge to easily move past Big Red defender Caitlin Slaminko and get into free space. Smith, now at the center of the 8-meter, received the pass from Meaghan to score and tie the game.

“It comes with practice. It's learning that after you get that second step down, that the only place that defender is going to be is behind you,” Olivia said about Smith’s dodge. “And she's learned that, and she's rubbed it to the point where it's like second nature.”