USA women’s lacrosse offers unique connection for Syracuse players, coaches
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Kayla Treanor caught the ball in midair just outside of the crease and fired a shot past the Boston College goalkeeper before she hit the ground, scoring a typical highlight reel goal and earning a loud roar from the crowd.
But it wasn’t a Syracuse crowd at the Carrier Dome. Treanor wasn’t playing against Boston College as a member of the Orange, a team on which she scored 260 goals and tallied 133 assists throughout her four-year career.
Instead, Treanor was with Team USA in the 2021 USA Lacrosse Fall Classic alongside current Syracuse players and alumni as well as players who SU competed against in the spring season. And other Division I standouts like Northwestern’s Izzy Scane and Boston College’s Charlotte North made up the team as well, and they ran onto the field to hug Treanor.
As one of the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse programs, Syracuse women’s lacrosse has stayed involved with USA Women’s Lacrosse in an environment that fosters at the highest level of lacrosse play. This preseason, it allowed Treanor, assistant coach Kenzie Kent and multiple current Syracuse players the chance to interact in a different setting. Syracuse will once again be well represented in the World Games over the summer, with midfielder Sam Swart and the Tyrrell sisters named to a 12-person roster.
On the Fall Classic roster, both Treanor and Kent played attack, and also on the roster alongside them was Swart and Emily Hawryschuk, who was coming off her ACL injury from the 2021 season.
When Treanor played collegiately at Syracuse, she also played alongside former SU players Katie Rowan Thomson and Michelle Tumulo — her coaches at SU at the time — on Team USA. While she was an assistant coach at Boston College, Treanor played alongside players like Kent and Sam Apuzzo.
“It’s really fun,” Treanor said. “It’s kind of always been a part of my experience on Team USA.”
In the first game of the Fall Classic against Canada, Treanor recorded two goals and three assists. Her first goal was unassisted, but on her second she received a pass from North.
Not only were many current and former SU players alongside one another on Team USA, but they also competed against current Syracuse players as well. Canada featured two current Syracuse players in midfielder Maddy Baxter and defender Bianca Chevarie. Although the game wasn’t close, the Canadian duo gained experience competing against and with some of the world’s top players.
Syracuse standout goalie Liz Hogan, who played on Team USA, was the Orange’s all time leader in single-season saves with 211 and she also scooped up 179 ground balls in her career between 2008 and 2011. Usually after Team USA related events, each player will take photos with their respective colleges that they all currently play for or used to play for, which Hogan said she enjoys.
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“It’s been really cool to play alongside some of my old teammates, but then to also get to see the future generational talent of Syracuse lacrosse throughout the years,” Hogan said.
Hogan said that watching Treanor and Kent interact with current Syracuse players has allowed them to switch to their “player caps” and treat them more like teammates. She also said that one of the best connections on the field was between Treanor and Kent on the attack. Hogan played in the first half against Team Canada and recorded five saves, allowing one score.
For the Fall Classic, USA’s roster featured multiple former players that Syracuse went up against in years prior, and current players that the Orange have matched up against this season like UNC’s Ally Mastroianni and Olivia Dirks.
“It’s a really close knit community,” Treanor said of the Team USA lacrosse environment. “I’m just really grateful. Some of my teammates from my Under-19 national team are some of my closest friends to this day.”