Tuesday night, Syracuse honored its seniors on the Carrier Dome turf. They were celebrated for their last four years of accomplishments. But, on 2019’s Senior Night, it was the younger players, the first- and second-year standouts, that made the game’s biggest impact.

They showed they were ready to take over for No. 5 Syracuse (14-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) in its 16-13 win over Cornell (8-5, 4-1 Ivy). On offense, the underclassmen accounted for half the goals while Sarah Cooper, the lone freshman starter on defense, made her presence known.

Syracuse is losing four seniors: midfielder Julie Cross, attack Nicole Levy, defender Alexa Radziewicz and goalie Bri Stahrr. Between the two offensive players, the Orange will lose 61 of their points and Radziewicz’s 13 caused turnovers next season.

“(The seniors) all mean something,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “They’re all valuable to me and they all bring something to the table. That’s what I appreciate, their willingness to give to the team.”

The underclassmen, in comparison, showed against the Big Red that they are ready to fill in for the lost goals, the lost ground balls and the lost turnovers caused. 

At the start of the second half, Meaghan Tyrrell cradled the ball a few times as one of Cornell’s defenders ran at her. Tyrrell side-stepped and ran toward the net. She shot. She scored. And she gave Syracuse its first lead of the game.

Tyrrell’s goal helped SU gain momentum that turned into a 4-1 scoring run. She put up four goals and an assist to lead the Orange. The four goals added to her second-overall goal total (31). Close behind her in fifth place for overall goals this season is Megan Carney (22).

Against Cornell, Carney had a single goal. Natalie Wallon passed it to Carney off a free position and Carney capitalized. Similar to Tyrrell leading the team in points against Cornell, Carney has demonstrated her talent at times as SU’s leading offensive threat. Against Virignia Tech, Carney reached a season high in points for the team when she put up four goals and five assists.

While Carney, Tyrrell and the other underclassmen spent the season putting up points, the only underclassman starter on the defense currently leads the team in caused turnovers with 27. Cooper also entered Tuesday’s game leading the ACC in caused turnovers per game. Against Cornell, Cooper won five draw controls and was deployed all over the defensive side of the field.

“If the ball’s up top, she’s up top,” Gait said. “If the ball’s down low – she’s all over the place. She does a great job. She has been a huge impact this year.”

Later in the game, with a minute-and-a-half left on the clock and only two scores separating SU from the Big Red, Tyrrell was once again given the ball near the goal. Once again she scored, putting Syracuse three points ahead and sealing the win for SU.

“We got lots of great freshmen that are playing well this year,” Gait said, “and we’re in great shape moving forward.”

Published on April 16, 2019 at 11:03 pm

Contact Kaci: klwasile@syr.edu