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With Delaney Sweitzer and Emily Sterling opposing each other in goal, both defenses knew that the last two Inside Lacrosse Goalkeepers of the Years had a chance to make game-changing plays.

“I think Emily and Delaney are two of the best goalies in the country,” Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said.

Tied 8-8 after Sweitzer and Syracuse’s defense halted Maryland’s final attack in regulation, it was a matter of which defense would break first in overtime. After Coco Vandiver was called for a green card with one second left in the first overtime, SU’s was the first to break.

Maryland worked the ball to Maisy Clevenger at X with SU down a player. This led Sweitzer, McKenzie Olsen, Bianca Chevarie and Katie Goodale to turn their back to the field near the crease. Unmarked from the 8-meter, Hannah Leubecker cut near the crease and finished past Sweitzer to win the game.

Despite a stout defensive performance and a 10-save outing from Sweitzer, No. 5 Syracuse (1-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell 9-8 in double overtime to No. 9 Maryland (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten). The Orange had several chances to win at the end of regulation and in overtime, but the Terrapins’ defense forced two turnovers and Sterling halted a potential game-winning shot from Emma Ward on SU’s last three offensive possessions.

“Our defense came up with some great stops and then you gotta ride that momentum and capitalize on the offensive end and make the most of the chances that you get,” Leubecker said postgame.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Maryland’s Hailey Russo broke through Syracuse’s zone and tried bouncing a shot past Sweitzer, but the shot was knocked away and successfully cleared.

On SU’s ensuing possession, Kori Edmondson was called for a yellow card giving the Orange a player-up opportunity with a chance to score the go-ahead goal. Syracuse continuously moved the ball around Maryland’s zone, but it couldn’t find any openings. With five seconds left on the shot clock, SU moved the ball around X, but never attacked the crease and failed to get a shot off.

“We helped when we needed help. We slid when we needed to slide. We came up with loose balls. We gave Emily shots that she’s confident to save,” Reese said.

Syracuse played zone for the entirety of the game, but SU head coach Kayla Treanor credited assistant coach Caitlin Defliese postgame for propelling Syracuse to face-guard Maryland on the final possession of regulation. With 13 seconds left on the game clock, Shaylan Ahearn tried icing the game, but Sweitzer knocked the ball away and man-to-man defense from Natalie Smith on Russo prevented the Terrapins from taking another shot.

“I thought both defenses played really well,” Treanor said. “I thought both goalies were excellent in this game.”

Though Treanor said it was a winnable game postgame, SU was again hampered by a slow start. As it did against Northwestern on Feb. 10, Syracuse struggled in the first quarter — plaguing it for the rest of the game.

Treanor noted how the Terrapins’ defense slid differently which caused the Orange to struggle in the first quarter. SU proceeded to win the second quarter and take a 4-3 lead into halftime, but it lost the third quarter 4-3 before each team only scored once in the final period of regulation. Treanor has preached all season that she wants her team to play complete games, which they didn’t do in regulation against Maryland. But the Orange still had a chance to win despite their inconsistent play.

Throughout the game, Kate Mashewske and Olivia Adamson each took draws, but Syracuse had Adamson take the opening draw of overtime. Versus Ahearn, Adamson flicked the ball up before Smith chased it down.

After calling a timeout, SU worked the ball around the field before finding Ward at X. One-on-one against Maryland defender Neve O’Ferrall, Ward bulldozed her way near the crease before spinning to her left to shake O’Ferrall. This allowed Ward to fire a shot with just Sterling in front of her but the reigning two-time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year denied her.

“I think she’s an awesome goalie,” Sweitzer said of Sterling. “She stood and played big tonight and it’s really awesome just going back and forth. I think both of our defenses played really well.”

On the other end, the Orange’s defense stepped up. With Russo cutting toward the crease, Goodale knocked the ball away to regain SU possession. This gave Syracuse an opportunity to take the last shot of the first three-minute overtime period. But with 20 seconds left, Smith misfired a pass to a cutting Adamson and turned the ball over.

Then, despite how well Syracuse’s defense had played, Vandiver committed a costly foul which drew a green card and forced the Orange to play a player down. It also gave the Terrapins the ball to start the second overtime.

Even with Sweitzer corralling 10 saves to that point while allowing just eight goals, there was nothing she could do to stop Leubecker’s bottom-left corner shot that won the game.

“I thought (the defense) played together as a unit and I thought that was a really big takeaway for our team today,” Treanor said.

Published on February 17, 2024 at 5:33 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon