Ward, Tyrrell Power Syracuse to Second Straight Final Four

Remember The Meg Show, featuring Megan Carney and Meaghan Tyrrell?

It’s been the Emma Show for Syracuse in 2024, and a 19-9 win over Yale proved to be the latest episode.

Emma Tyrrell led all scorers with nine points on seven goals and two assists, while Emma Ward posted three goals and four assists to lift the Orange (17-5) to its second-straight Final Four and third in four seasons. The 16 points are the most the two attackers have ever combined for.

“Emma makes my job really easy. She catches and finishes the ball unlike anyone I’ve ever played with,” Ward said, before adding with a smile, “Her sister was pretty good, too.”

Olivia Adamson, the third prong in Syracuse’s versatile attack, chipped in a hat trick. Kate Mashewske followed her 20-draw control performance in the second round against Stony Brook by corralling 15 draws against Yale. Mashewske now has 220 draw controls in 2024, breaking Kayla Treanor’s single-season program mark of 217 set in 2016.

“I was asked by media [yesterday] if thought she was going to break the record, and I said, ‘I sure do hope so,’” said head coach Kayla Treanor. “What she is doing right now on the draw is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in women’s lacrosse … she just had 20 draw controls, and she followed it up with 15. It’s pretty incredible."

Karina Herrera tallied three goals and one assist for Yale, which ends its season at 17-3. The Bulldogs won their first Ivy League tournament crown. The NCAA quarterfinal appearance was another first for Yale.

Syracuse never trailed, employing a balanced offense in the opening frame that picked apart a Yale defense that entered the meeting second in Division I in goals allowed per game (7.79).

The Orange wasted little time getting on the board, scoring the game’s first goal when Ward tiptoed around the crease and scored 62 seconds into the game. Five different Orange players checked in with a goal in the opening frame, with Adamson, Tyrrell, Savannah Sweitzer and Joely Caramelli joining Ward, as Syracuse held a 5-1 lead after 15 minutes.

The Orange scored the first three goals of the second quarter and later went ahead 9-2 when Tyrrell hit Adamson for a goal with 5:25 until halftime. Yale attempted to chip away with a 4-1 run that spanned the second and third quarters. But the closest the Bulldogs got was four, 10-6, on a Jenna Collignon goal at 6:32 of the third quarter.

Syracuse slammed the door with a game-ending 9-3 run that included four goals from Tyrrell.

The Orange will face Boston College in a semifinal game on Friday, May 24, in Cary, N.C. It's the third time this year the ACC rivals have squared off, with the Eagles taking both meetings, including the ACC tournament championship game. In fact, Boston College has topped Syracuse six straight times, including last year’s Final Four and the 2021 NCAA championship game.

“We’re ready to play anybody,” Ward said. “If you want to win a national championship, you have to beat everybody. Whoever we get to play, we’re excited to play them.”