The No. 2 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team completed a late comeback, defeating the No. 20 Loyola Greyhounds 14-12 in overtime.
“It was a great senior day for us and fun to be a part of,” head coach Gary Gait said.
In its last home game of the season, late game heroics from a pair of seniors helped SU overcome a three-goal deficit late in the second half. As the NCAA Tournament selection looms Sunday evening, Gait put a strong emphasis on the way the game played out.
“I think there is more value in the comeback than the win,” Gait said. “ The ability to come back is important. We know that we can do that. That is great experience for us heading into the tournament.”
It appeared early on that the Orange would cruise to an easy senior day victory as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead halfway through the first half. Alyssa Murray, contributing on each of Syracuse’s first six goals, took sole possession of second place on the SU all-time scoring list when she gave the Orange a 5-1 lead with 17:32 left in the first half. The Greyhounds would go on a 4-1 run to end the first as the Orange watched their lead evaporate. Syracuse led the Greyhounds by one, 7-6, as the first half ended.
“We finally got our feet under us and started to play better,” said Loyola coach Jen Adams. “I thought we were very resilient and pushed through the mental errors we had early on.”
Loyola continued its run into the second half where it eventually built up a 12-9 lead with less than six minutes remaining. About 30 seconds after the Greyhounds took their biggest lead of the night, Murray got the Orange offense rolling again. Murray added another goal about a minute later to cut the lead to 12-11.
With time winding down and the Orange trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time all season, sophomore Kayla Treanor stepped up and tied the game at 12-12.
“We just kept saying ‘next play, not last play,’” Treanor said. “I was just hoping to finish. My teammates worked hard to get us in that position to tie it.”
Treanor, who finished the game with four goals, tied the game on a free position attempt with 41 seconds remaining in regulation.
In the overtime frame, Katie Webster gave Syracuse a 13-12 lead in the first overtime before an unlikely hero added an insurance tally. Senior Liz Harbeson found the back of the net for her only goal of the season with just over a minute remaining. As the clock ran out the Orange had clawed out a 14-12 overtime victory over the Greyhounds and Harbeson got a free ride off the field on the shoulders of her teammates.
“It’s awesome I’m really glad she scored. It’s a great day for her,” Murray said. “She gets overlooked sometimes because she’s just a great defender.”
“It was just a great senior day and a great way to end it I guess,” Harbeson said.
Despite needing last second heroics to win coach Gait felt comfortable with the way his team played.
“We buckled down when we needed to today. I think this was tough because it’s finals week,” said Gait. “I don’t think we had a day of practice with everyone there.”
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