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Following a three-game losing streak to counter a 3-0 start to 2025, Syracuse earned a much-needed rejuvenation Friday with a 14-13 win in double overtime against then-No. 6 Stanford.

After scoring eight goals per game in their three-game skid, the Orange indicated more signs of life offensively with their highest scoring tally since Feb. 18 with nine different goal scorers. Syracuse also found greater success on the draw with Joely Caramelli taking over duties in the circle from Meghan Rode.

The win was SU’s most complete showing since losing star attack Olivia Adamson and provided a spark previously unseen in the Orange’s gauntlet of five-straight ranked opponents.

Monday’s matchup with No. 7 Johns Hopkins was eerily similar in several ways, as the Orange jumped on top early, allowed a comeback and took the game to overtime. Yet this time, it resulted in heartbreak rather than jubilation for Syracuse.

Here are observations from No. 6 SU’s (4-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) 14-13 overtime loss to No. 7 Johns Hopkins (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten):

Early advantage

Syracuse hasn’t enjoyed much success in the first quarter throughout its previous four ranked games, being outscored 16-8. Despite taking an early 4-1 lead against Stanford Friday, the Orange trailed after the first quarter in three of the four games. An 8-2 deficit to then-No. 2 North Carolina and a 4-0 disadvantage to then-No. 3 Northwestern were detrimental in sparking SU’s three-game skid.

On Monday, though, SU dominated early, outscoring the Blue Jays 6-2 in the first, backed by five goals in the first seven minutes. It began 47 seconds into the contest, as Mileena Cotter received the ball just outside the fan, made JHU’s defenders miss and ripped a shot into the upper-right corner of the cage.

Syracuse then scored twice in less than a minute on two separate occasions. Caroline Trinkaus scored three minutes in on a feed from Emma Ward, and Alexa Vogelman buried a free position to put the Orange up 3-0. Following JHU’s opener to cut the lead to two, Vogelman scored off the draw, and Emma Muchnick scored on a free position to extend SU’s lead to 5-1 with 7:54 left.

Trinkaus added a second with just over five minutes remaining to produce SU’s largest lead of the game at five. Nonetheless, just as the Orange conceded against Stanford, a choppy second quarter allowed the Blue Jays a route back into the game, and SU ultimately folded late.

JHU’s stars shine

A crucial part of Syracuse’s defensive efforts in the past few weeks has been limiting opponents’ leaders. In their battle with then-No. 12 Clemson on March 1, the Orange held the Tigers’ top scorer Kayla MacLeod to just one point in a narrow 9-8 loss. In Friday’s win over then-No. 6 Stanford, the Orange held leading scorer Aliya Polisky to one point, as well.

However, Johns Hopkins’ stars were all over Syracuse Monday. The Blue Jays’ leading scorers, Ashley Mackin and Ava Angello, combined for a whopping 10 goals, driving JHU’s offense all afternoon.

Angello, a native of nearby Manlius, New York, entered with 16 goals and scored a hat-trick in under three minutes in the second period. All of her tallies were on free positions and cut the lead to one just over five minutes into the second.

Angello was the talisman for the Blue Jays throughout the third as well, scoring a crafty behind-the-back goal and beating Daniella Guyette with an overhand for goals No. 4 and No. 5 of the afternoon. She scored again on a late man-up to cut the lead to one entering the fourth quarter.

Mackin was the key for JHU in the fourth quarter. She scored once in the first and again in the second but tallied two goals in 80 seconds in the fourth to equalize for Johns Hopkins. After limiting stars throughout their previous two contests, the Orange couldn’t keep the Blue Jays’ leaders off the board.

Draw improvements

Syracuse’s early start was primarily influenced by success on the draw. After Caramelli took over draws from Rode Friday, she produced a dominant first quarter. SU began the day with a 7-0 advantage in draw controls, and JHU failed to earn a win until 10 minutes into the game. The Orange led 7-2 in the circle in the first quarter.

SU couldn’t find the same dominance throughout the remaining three quarters, though, winning 3-of-7 in the second, 3-of-6 in the third, and 3-of-8 in the fourth.

Nonetheless, Syracuse won the draw control battle, going 16-for-31, its second-consecutive game above 50% in the circle since Caramelli took over as the No. 1 option. Prior to going 17-for-33 against Stanford, the Orange hadn’t finished a game over 50% since the season opener Feb. 7 against Albany.

Despite the loss, Monday’s improvement indicated Syracuse has taken a step toward finding its solution in the circle.

Penalty problems

Syracuse gave up seven player-up chances Monday, allowing the Blue Jays several chances to steal goals and cut into SU’s early advantage.

But the Orange held the Blue Jays to three of seven on the power play. The majority of JHU’s chances came in the fourth quarter, as Syracuse was issued green and yellow cards one after another. It seemed every time SU returned to even strength, another foul sent it down a player.

Even with injuries to defenders Lexi Reber and Coco Vandiver at points throughout the contest, Syracuse defended Johns Hopkins’ four attempts on the player-up flawlessly, forcing turnovers on multiple opportunities.

Still, when SU gave up as many power play opportunities as it did Monday, it was bound to concede a few. Mackin made the Orange pay on JHU’s seventh power play of the evening. While Syracuse’s defense would typically live with a three-for-seven mark, Mackin’s goal was all it took to make the difference Monday.

Published on March 10, 2025 at 7:13 pm

harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6