Kailah Kempney did what she does best. After two quick Loyola (Md.) goals just three minutes apart, Kempney needed to slow the Greyhounds’ run.

So with seemingly little effort, Kempney flipped the ball up over her head and reached up for her eighth draw control of the game. For a moment, the Loyola comeback was stalled.

‘She’s outstanding,’ Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. ‘… Rules have changed in draw controls that allows for a person that can draw to themselves to be successful and she’s one of those players, so she’s taking advantage of those rules and doing a great job.’

The No. 14 Greyhounds (11-5, 7-1 Big East) did score three more times in the final 10 minutes, but their comeback ultimately fell short as the No. 2 Orange (15-2, 8-0) held on for a 13-12 victory Friday thanks to Kempney’s success in the circle. The freshman’s eight draw controls were her most since she controlled 10 in her collegiate debut against then-No. 13 Boston College and allowed her to set the record for draw controls in a single season by an SU player. The attack padded those numbers in an 18-3 victory over Villanova (4-12, 2-6) on Sunday by gathering another four draw controls to give her 67 this season.

‘It’s awesome, being a freshman, but I definitely give it to my team in practice,’ Kempney said. ‘We work on draws a lot, and they really push us on it, our coaches and stuff, so have to thank all my teammates for that one.’

In a pair of weekend games, Syracuse combined for 38 draw controls. Though Kempney led the Orange in each game, she routinely set up her teammates for draw controls. In both games, SU defender Becca Block controlled at least three draws, despite never taking a draw herself.

Block, along with Caz-Marie Norwich and Bridget Daley, are players that Kempney says can basically ‘read her mind,’ helping the trio combine for 65 draw controls of its own.

‘Communication on the circle definitely helps,’ Kempney said. ‘I communicate with the other two people on the circle, and we have all our little things we do. We pretty much just read each other’s minds on the circle. If they go one way, I know where. We’re just comfortable with each other.’

But relying on getting balls to her teammates sometimes backfired. After Kempney won her eighth draw control, SU failed to win another over the final 12 minutes of the game.

By winning the final three draws of the game, the Greyhounds were able to mount the final stages of their comeback. But Daley deflected blame away from herself and Kempney, instead insisting that the late struggles in the circle were a team effort.

‘I think we just lost focus, honestly,’ Daley said. ‘We were trying to do a little too much and we weren’t taking it play by play. We were getting ahead of ourselves, and we just have to zero in.’

While the late struggles in the circle nearly cost Syracuse the game, Kempney’s first 50 minutes in the circle were perhaps the ultimate factor in guiding the Orange to victory.

As SU nursed a 13-7 lead with less than 17 minutes remaining in the game, every minute of possession became crucial.

Loyola scored just under two minutes later to end Syracuse’s 5-0 run, but on the ensuing draw, Kempney drew a penalty to come away with the draw control. Though the Orange was unable to score on the next possession, it was able to run a precious three minutes off the clock.

Running out the clock like SU did Friday is something that would have been impossible a season ago. In 2011, Syracuse won just 47 percent of its draws.

For Syracuse attack Michelle Tumolo, who witnessed the struggles of the past, the difference Kempney has made from last season to now is ‘night and day.’

‘I think that’s why we won the game,’ Tumolo said of Kempney’s prowess on draws. ‘Because she was winning the draws and doing so well at that, so I think that’s really our key to our success this year.’

dbwilson@syr.edu