Syracuse commits familiar mistakes in 8-7 Final Four loss to BC
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After Syracuse took a two-goal lead for the first time since the opening period, Tewaaraton Award finalist Jenn Medjid turned the tide in the fourth. On a free position from the top of the 8-meter, Medjid sprinted in a few steps before sending it past Delancey Sweitzer for the score.
SU’s Olivia Adamson won the ensuing draw but turned it over immediately. Boston College took that transition opportunity and scored quickly. Medjid’s second goal in 21 seconds gave her five of BC’s seven goals at that point, tying the game at seven with 9:12 remaining.
BC dominated the fourth quarter against SU, something the Eagles have done consistently over the past three seasons.
“I think the group of players that we have are really smart players,” said BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. “They are IQ-driven and I think as the game goes on, there’s more to evaluate and there’s more to analyze, which means there’s more to take in, more process, and then they can do a lot with that.”
With nine minutes left in the game, the Orange needed to make something happen, but weren’t able to. Just like the last game of the regular season and the 2021 national championship game, second-half adjustments and fouls allowed BC to emerge late. In a defensive battle, Syracuse (18-3, 8-1 Atlantic Coast) fell to Boston College (19-3, 8-1 ACC) 8-7. Two of BC’s fourth-quarter goals were on free position opportunities, similar to their comeback victory a month ago.
In a rematch of the heartbreaking regular season finale that ended SU’s program-record 15-game win streak, Syracuse couldn’t flip the script. SU fouled BC 7 times in the final period on Friday while only drawing two of its own. BC scored two made free position chances that ended up being the difference. Treanor wasn’t a fan of the calls.
“It was extremely frustrating when they only have two fouls in the entire second half,” Treanor said. “It does make a difference in a one-goal game. Is that why we lost? No. But I do think it played a big factor in the second half for sure.”
To start the game, Olivia Adamson won three straight draw controls to put Syracuse up 2-0 just 1:35 into the game. After tipping the first draw up to herself, Adamson got SU’s scoring started.
Sierra Cockerille dodged inside on the right and then ripped a pass across the zone to Olivia Adamson near the 8-meter peak. She took a few steps toward the middle before zipping a goal past keeper Shea Dolce to give SU a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
Once Adamson controlled the second draw, SU scored 26 seconds later. After a foul from behind, Emma Ward buried a free-position shot on the right side of the 8-meter arc. Readying herself for the shot, Ward stepped into a rocket that soared over Dolce and into the top of the net. That gave Syracuse a 2-0 lead before BC even held possession.
Yet, once Syracuse went up 3-0, BC surged back to within one over the next five minutes.
In the 17-16 comeback victory on April 20, BC ran most of their offense from X during its 7-2 fourth quarter run. The Orange were prepared for that tactic this time around.
With SU up 3-2, BC passed around to X, where Cassidy Weeks sent an inside feed that never reached its target. Sweitzer, without turning her body to the ball, snatched it in the head of her stick.
Just nine minutes later, Sweitzer made a similar play on a ground ball. Weeks turned it over again, but this time lost the handle at X. Sweitzer just extended her stick to corral it off the loose ball.
Syracuse’s goalie continued to disrupt BC possessions throughout the game, accumulating four caused turnovers and six ground balls.
“She’s proven to be the top goaltender in the country, and tonight she made such an impact in Boston getting extra possessions, picking up passes and coming out of the net and clearing the ball,” Treanor said of Sweitzer. “She was fearless today.”
Dolce, after a breakout campaign where she earned All-Freshman First Team honors, was a thorn in Syracuse’s side all game. Despite Syracuse outshooting the Eagles 15-9 in the first half, Dolce made five saves to keep it tied 4-4 entering the break. She finished with seven saves compared to Sweitzer’s three.
As time ticked down in the first period, the ball went out behind the cage. Most players thought it was BC’s ball, but SU got to the backline first and passed inside to Adamson. Dolce saw her cock back, so she leaped forward to knock it down with her body before time expired in the quarter.
After scoring three quick goals out of the gate, Syracuse went scoreless for over 20 minutes. Both teams scored near the end of the second quarter and things were knotted at the break.
Then, after a few empty possessions to start the third, SU pulled ahead again. From the left of X, Adamson threaded the needle to Natalie Smith crashing down the middle of the zone. She shot hard past a lunging Dolce, putting Syracuse on top by one.
Six minutes later, Maddy Baxter cleared the ball for SU and kept running into the BC box. She passed to Megan Carney inside, who saw Baxter clear her defender on the left, so she passed back. Baxter dropped down sidearm to sneak it past Dolce.
That gave SU its first two-goal lead since the first quarter, but BC would answer right away with a goal from Medjid, who sent a shot straight past Sweitzer less than two minutes later.
SU hit back. Megan Carney crashed the lane that Emma Tyrrell had just cleared for her. Carney leapt up to score above Dolce, giving Syracuse a 7-5 advantage with 1:28 left in the quarter. That was the last time Syracuse got on the scoreboard, outscored 3-0 in the fourth.
Entering the final period after a back-and-forth third quarter, Syracuse had the momentum up 7-5. But that’s when Medjid took control, erasing the SU lead in just 21 seconds.
“I need to step up as a player and a leader for my team when we need it,” Medjid said postgame. “So I think that’s just what happened.”
Tied 7-7, it was a free-position goal from Kayla Martello that sealed the deal with 3:31 remaining, as her winding drive from the left side ended up in the back of the net.
After that, sloppy and desperate transition play cemented Syracuse’s second Championship Weekend loss to Boston College in three seasons.
“I really think it comes down to our shooting,” Treanor said. “We weren’t able to put the ball in the back of the net at critical times. And a couple of times when we were free, we were back checked. We were able to get in and get good opportunities. We just ultimately didn’t finish the plays when we needed to.”
