Offensive adjustments help No. 4 SU bounce back from poor 1st quarter to beat Pitt 18-6

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Syracuse trailed by one goal in the second quarter as it tried to prevent Pittsburgh from moving closer to an upset win. Goalie Kimber Hower held the ball in her circle and saw a sprinting Emma Tyrrell at midfield.

Hower sent a long pass down to Emma, which helped set up a weave attack for the Orange. The ball eventually got to Natalie Smith at the top of the arc and she waited for a cutting Meaghan Tyrrell to move down into the 8-meter. After Meaghan got open, Smith sent the pass down to her and Meaghan scored on a bouncing shot that beat Pitt goalkeeper Paulina DiFatta.

Meaghan’s hat trick-sealing goal tied the game and kickstarted an SU run that ended any doubt of an upset. Syracuse (10-2, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) struggled early against underdog Pittsburgh (6-7, 0-6 ACC), scoring only two goals in the first quarter. But head coach Kayla Treanor said SU made crucial adjustments to help improve the attack, and the Orange went on a 14-4 run to close the game, with their two starting attackers, Meaghan and Emily Hawryschuk, combining for 10 goals and 14 points.

Recently, Syracuse has done well in terms of starting a game strong offensively. Against Virginia Tech and Temple, SU scored six and seven goals, respectively, in the first frame, but the opening 15 minutes of Saturday’s game saw the Orange struggle to create any form of consistent offensive success. While the attackers weren’t connecting on their shots, the midfielders faced consistent pressure. Midway through the period, Sam Swart caused a turnover and sent a contested pass to Emma, who sprinted down the field. Eventually, the pressure of three Pitt defenders caused her to lose control of the ball.

SU’s trademark weave also wasn’t clicking in the opening quarter as Hawryschuk even fell over while trying to complete the attack on one sequence. The Orange also had seven free position attempts in the first half, but only scored once.

There were some bright spots throughout the first quarter, though, as Hawryschuk and Meaghan both scored to keep Pitt’s lead at only two heading into the second quarter. With just under six minutes left in the opening quarter, Hawryschuk made a cut at the 8-meter line. As she cut toward the net, Pittsburgh defenders Allyson Trice and Therese Pitman bumped into each other, giving Hawryschuk a wide-open scoring lane and an easy goal.

“When we were not playing well, Emily really stepped up and put the ball in the back of the net when we needed her to,” Treanor said.

But despite Hawryschuk’s early success, Treanor said the Orange tried various offensive plays early on, but couldn’t get anything going. As a result, the coaches made an adjustment that the team hadn’t worked on in practice — get the offense moving earlier in the possession.

Players responded well to the change, Treanor said, and according to the stat sheet, the two who responded the best were Hawyrschuk and Meaghan. The connection between the two started the eight-goal run that stretched all the way until midway through the third quarter. Hawryschuk patiently waited for Meaghan to come up in front of DiFatta, and once Meaghan got to the front of the net, Hawryschuk flung the ball down to Meaghan, scoring her second goal of the afternoon.

Then, after Meaghan’s third goal, which tied the game, the Orange’s ground ball play helped give them the lead.

Swart curled from behind the net and jumped up for a shot. But it went too high and hit the post. Savannah Sweitzer kept the play alive, and 20 seconds later, Meaghan, from the far left side of the arc, sent an inside pass to Emma, who buried the shot to make the score 5-4. Sweizter’s ground ball was one of nine in the quarter as SU dominated at collecting loose balls, finishing with the second-most in a single game this season.

“I think ground balls are effort plays,” Meaghan said. “So putting all our efforts to get those ground balls is something that we definitely focus on.”

Less than a minute later, Emma scored on a free position shot and Syracuse started to gain control of possession — and the game. SU got some extra help on one player where an official ran into midfielder Payton Reed, causing a simple passing play to become a turnover. Hawryschuk was able to gain possession and take a shot from the top of the arc that beat DiFatta’s stick side on the ensuing Syracuse attack and ended the first-half scoring.

The second half started with immediate scoring for the Orange. Katelyn Mashewske won the opening draw and sent a pass to defender Sarah Cooper, and the two sprinted down the field together. Just before they were met by DiFatta, Cooper dumped the ball off to Mashewske, who scored easily. Minutes later, Savannah Sweitzer scored on the free position and Jenny Markey sent a slingshot that beat DiFatta’s nearside to make the score 10-4.

Meaghan continued to be the statistical leader for the Orange by taking advantage of one-on-one matchups. Less than seven minutes into the quarter, Meaghan charged down the right side, moving past Elise Bialecki, who was unable to stop her with a stick check, and the senior scored her team-best fourth goal of the day. Hawryschuk added two more goals in the third quarter, too, including one when Syracuse was down a player.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Meaghan added her fifth. Even though there was a shooting space violation on the play, Meaghan still scored, cutting into the right side of the arc and converting on a bouncing shot. But Jalyn Jimerson’s goal cemented a double-digit lead for Orange, which at one point seemed like a challenge. Standing at the top of the arc, she sent a hard shot from the top of the 8-meter that ensured SU’s ACC record would remain unblemished.

“I don’t think we played our best for all four quarters,” Treanor said. “But we made some changes and adjustments. And the girls responded and we were able to pull away.”