Upending History: How Syracuse can avoid past Championship Weekend mistakes
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Syracuse has played in seven NCAA Tournament semifinals since 2008, the fourth-most in the country during that span. But unlike Maryland, Northwestern and North Carolina – who’ve all won at least three championships since then – SU has never clinched a national title.
In 14 seasons under former head coach Gary Gait, the Orange finished runner-up three times. Every team that bested SU during Championship Weekend won it all, and that wasn’t the only pattern to emerge.
All eight of SU’s final four losses were to either Maryland, Northwestern or Boston College. Since Gait took over in 2008, the Wildcats are 6-1 against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins are 6-0.
BC, being relatively new to the elite tier, played the Orange on Championship Weekend for the second time in 2021, when the Eagles captured their first national championship. The two will meet again on Friday in Cary, North Carolina, with a trip to the title game on the line.
In its first Final Four without Gait, Syracuse is led by head coach Kayla Treanor. In just her second year at the helm, she’s expanded Gait’s free-flowing offense to an elevated level of efficiency, translating into a program-best 15-1 regular season record. Although SU will have to beat the Eagles, and potentially NU, to win it all, if the Orange can make the necessary adjustments to overturn its historical mistakes against these familiar foes, history can be made.
Northwestern: 2008, 2012
In both Championship Weekend losses to Northwestern, Syracuse had the exact same amount of shots (16) and shots on goal (10), its lowest total attempts in a game during both seasons. The Orange lost 8-16 in game one and then 6-8 in game two.
During the 2008 semifinal, SU turned the ball over 15 times. Then, throughout its first championship game appearance in 2012, Syracuse gave up 12 of 16 draw controls. Both times, over the course of four years, losing the possession battle led to its doom.
SU’s first tournament win against the Wildcats eventually came in 2021, when it won the draw and ground ball battles despite both teams turning the ball over 14 times. Last year, NU trampled a battered Syracuse squad by 11 in the quarterfinals after 17 SU turnovers.
Most recently, SU defeated NU in the 2023 regular season opener, 16-15. It was the Wildcats’ only loss in the regular season. Once again, it came down to the Orange committing fewer turnovers and winning more draw controls.
“They just really fight back,” Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller said about the Orange. “I think they have a really special energy about them [this season].”
Maryland: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Treanor knows the pain of being second-best. As a player at SU, Treanor lost to Maryland on Championship Weekend four straight times from 2013-16. The first loss was by one, then three, then two, and finally 10.
In Treanor’s final game as a collegiate player, after becoming one of the most accomplished athletes in Syracuse history, she walked off the field to a running clock.
There weren’t many patterns in these losses apart from the overwhelming sense that Maryland was simply the better team. Even when Syracuse won on the stat sheet, it could never win on the scoreboard. But this year, momentum has shifted.
Statistically, Syracuse is the best team in this Final Four. And after witnessing Maryland’s dynasty close up, that should tell Trenor one thing: The title is theirs for the taking.
Boston College: 2021
In his final game at the helm, Syracuse lost 16-10 to Boston College in its third-ever National Championship appearance.
Syracuse trailed by just one entering halftime. But after the break, BC scored the first three goals of the half in under five minutes before holding the Orange to just two in the entire period. Offensively, the Eagles took five second-half free position shots to SU’s zero.
Ironically, Treanor was on the opposite sidelines as an assistant coach, hoisting the trophy for the first time after helping take down her alma mater. She said that her four seasons with the Eagles have influenced the teaching philosophy she now implements with the Orange. As a result, these teams have some schematic similarities.
“I think the common overlap is that they are very unselfish,” said BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. “There’s a very unselfish style of play that both Kayla and I believe is ultimately the most powerful thing that you can have with your team… We are [both] fast-paced, effective and smart.”
In the teams’ most recent matchup, Boston College beat SU 17-16 behind a 7-2 fourth-quarter run. Syracuse led for the entire game, but couldn’t prevent a flurry of BC’s attacks from X, which led to a barrage of open looks in the final period.
“They really ran the same thing multiple times and we just had trouble making that adjustment,” Treanor said postgame.
Just like in 2021, Syracuse seemed to ease off the gas while BC floored it in the second half. The Eagles outshot the Orange by nine in the final 15 minutes, including eight free position shots for four goals.
How is this year different?
History may not be on Syracuse’s side, but the numbers are.
Entering Championship Weekend, SU leads the nation in points per game, assists and adjusted offensive efficiency (highest in program history). It also ranks top seven in adjusted draw control percentage, adjusted defensive percentage and adjusted save percentage, per LacrosseReference. No other team ranks in the top 15 in all of those categories.
To beat the Eagles and advance, Treanor must preach second-half adjustments and defensive discipline. And if the Orange win, a rematch with the Wildcats could be their reward, where possession would be the key.
Syracuse proved its adaptability during back-and-forth comeback victories this season, but wavered near the end. After starting the year on a 15-game win streak, SU then lost twice in the span of three games before the NCAA Tournament began.
This stretch highlighted SU’s steady decline in defensive efficiency, but the Orange reset their focus and shifted personnel, Treanor said. Syracuse moved Tessa Queri back to defense from her sporadic midfield appearances.
What followed was a dominant 25-8 victory over Johns Hopkins in the first round, tying a program record for goals in a game, before a 13-7 win over James Madison. Treanor said the team discussed getting back to their roots and playing “Syracuse lacrosse.”
“I just think we’re such a different team right now compared to where we were in the ACC tournament,” Treanor said. “When we came back it was the first time since our preseason where they had that significant amount of time to talk about us and the way that we want to play.”
It’s clear that Syracuse has returned to form. It is, once again, the group that beat two top-five teams in as many games to begin 2023. Now, SU must do that again to reach the mountain top for the first time.
If the Orange can play Treanor’s brand of “Syracuse lacrosse” for just two more games, they can upend history.
