Orange Advance To Final Four!

Saturday, May 22

2 PM

Syracuse University

16-3

Florida

18-3

Florida

Syracuse

5/22/2021 4:37:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Highlights Gary Gait Press Conference Asa Goldstock Press Conference Emma Ward Press Conference Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A career-high six goals from Emma Ward pushed No. 3/3 Syracuse (15-3) past No. 8/7 Florida (18-3) by a score of 17-11 on Sunday afternoon at SU Soccer Stadium to advance the Orange to their eighth national semifinal in program history.

"This was a great opportunity to play at home. So far, the top seeds have gotten the job done and we stepped up today," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "When the game was tied at five at halftime, I knew that we could step up and play better and I just asked our team to stick with the game plan, continue to play the offense, and relax a little bit. We're excited to head back to the Final Four. It's been a bit of a drought, but we're back."

Ward's six goals were one shy of tying the program-record for goals in a game by a freshman and tied with Alyssa Murray's six-goal performance against Virginia in 2012 for the second-most goals by a Syracuse player in an NCAA Tournament contest. Ward also contributed a team-best seven points, tying her career high that came against UAlbany. Emma Tyrrell (4G, 2A) and Meaghan Tyrrell (3G, 3A) followed closely behind with six points apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded pairs of goals during the first 14 minutes before tallied from Meaghan Tyrrell and Sam Swart gave the Orange a two-goal advantage, 4-2, with 12:32 remaining in the opening frame. The Gators notched three of the final four goals in the half to send the teams to the break even at five.

Syracuse surged ahead at the start of the second stanza by tallying five unanswered goals in nine minutes. Ward and Emma Tyrrell scored two goals apiece during the stretch to give the 'Cuse a 10-5 lead with 21:28 remaining in the contest.

Florida's Grace Haus found the back of the net at the 20:49 mark to stop the Syracuse scoring streak, but the Orange answered back with goals from Ward and Emma Tyrrell to extend their lead to six, 12-6, with 17:18 left in the contest.

Over the ensuing ten minutes, the Gators outscored the Orange 4-1 and made the contest a three-goal affair, 13-10, with just over eight minutes left on the clock.

However, the Orange offense proved too much down the stretch. Syracuse scored four of the game's final five goals to secure a 17-11 victory and advance to the Final Four.

OF NOTE

With the victory, Syracuse's record in NCAA Tournament games improves to 20-17 all-time. Its record in quarterfinal contests is now 8-3.
The win advances Syracuse to the national semifinals for the eighth time in program history. The Orange last appeared in the Final Four in 2016.
The Orange owned the edge in shots on goal (28-18) and ground balls (17-14). The teams both recorded 15 draw controls apiece.
With six points on the game, Meaghan Tyrrell improves her season total to 102, moving past Christina Dove's 2008 (100) and 2010 (97) point totals to claim sole possession of seventh place on the Syracuse single-season point list.
Meaghan's three assists also increase her season total to 40, pushing her past Michelle Tumolo (37 in 2010) and putting her in a three-way tie with Alyssa Murray (40 in 2013) and Kayla Treanor (40 in 2016) for fifth place on the program's single-season assist list.
Asa Goldstock made seven stops during the contest, increasing her career total to 649. She needs 11 saves to tie Liz Hogan (660) for the most in program history.
Emily Ehle tied with Meaghan Tyrrell for the team-lead in assists with three. The total matched Ehle's season standard that had been accomplished twice previously.
Goldstock tied her season high with three ground balls.