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With under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Syracuse worked the ball around the perimeter, looking to build on its 3-0 run. With the Orange trailing 9-7, Emma Muchnick caught the ball at the top of the 12-meter and passed it to Emma Tyrrell at X. Left unguarded, the pass came right to Tyrrell, but she did not see it into her stick as it went right past her, handing the ball back to the Eagles.

The turnover marked her third of the game and put the stamp on her scoreless, one-point performance against BC. As they had in the teams’ two prior matchups, the Eagles slowed Tyrrell down Friday.

Over the past two games, Tyrrell had been playing her best lacrosse of the season, but No. 2 seed Boston College’s (19-3, 7-2 ACC) defense quieted her as it defeated No. 3 seed Syracuse (16-6, 8-1 ACC) 10-7 in the NCAA Tournament semifinals. After scoring in all eight quarters of Syraucuse’s first two NCAA Tournament games, Tyrrell did not tally a goal against Boston College. Tyrrell recorded just one point, which came in the fourth quarter. With little production from Tyrrell, BC handed SU a loss for the second straight season on Championship Weekend.

Unlike the last two games, when it took her less than five minutes to score, Tyrrell did not get a shot off until the 9:18 mark of the first quarter. The strike was on target, but BC goalie Shea Dolce made the save.

For the rest of the first quarter, the Eagles made things uncomfortable for Tyrrell. At the 6:48 mark, Tyrrell tried to split BC’s defense and was met with multiple defenders. Still, she found a gap in the defense, but was forced into a rushed shot and missed the cage wide left.

With about a minute left in the first quarter, Tyrrell looked to tie the game as she curled around from X. As soon as she got close to the front of the crease, she was met by three Eagles defenders, again missing wide.

“We just had everyone prepared to be able to defend (Tyrrell’s) tendencies,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said.

In the second quarter, Tyrrell was silenced. Boston College started the quarter continuing to build on its scoring run, extending its lead to 6-2. During the first 10 minutes of the quarter, as SU’s offense went into a scoring drought, Tyrrell received zero looks on offense.

Natalie Smith scored at the 6:47 mark of the second quarter on SU’s second shot of the quarter. The goal ended an 18-minute scoring drought for SU, as Boston College had been containing Tyrrell and other Syracuse scoring options.

Smith’s goal sparked some momentum for Syracuse approaching halftime, but when Tyrrell fired a shot with under five minutes left in the second quarter, Dolce denied her again. When Tyrrell looked to score, BC was one step ahead.

During the first two meetings between BC and SU, Tyrrell was held to one goal in each game. Through 30 minutes, Tyrrell did not have a point. Boston College prepared for this matchup by watching a lot of film on the previous two games, learning more on how to match up better with SU, Dolce and Rachel Clark said postgame.

Boston College’s lead grew to 8-4 midway through the third quarter and again Tyrrell couldn’t help Syracuse through an offensive dry spell. When the Orange were looking to create some momentum, they were slowed by turnovers on back-to-back possessions by Tyrrell.

With 5:13 left in the third, Tyrrell caught the ball at the top of SU’s offense and looked to put a move on a defender when she lost her footing and the ball dropped out of her stick for BC. Tyrrell received one of her most open looks of the game on Syracuse’s next possession and decided to shoot bottom left from inside the 8-meter, but Dolce dove down to stop it.

The Orange’s offense, without production from Tyrrell, fell into its second extended drought of the game, as the scoreless stretch ended at 24 minutes early in the fourth quarter. Syracuse’s offense got hot and went on a 3-0 run. Tyrrell tallied a point by finding Gracie Britton to cut the deficit to 9-6.

As other SU players ignited its offense late, Tyrrell was still boggled by how to attack BC’s defense. After the Orange forced a shot clock violation, they could’ve brought the game within one goal with under six minutes left. But on the ensuing possession, SU controlled the ball for just 20 seconds before Tyrrell missed the pass from Muchnick, which killed Syracuse’s momentum.

Syracuse’s offense fell quiet for the last five minutes of play as the comeback fell short. Boston College held Tyrell to just five shots, her fewest of the three tournament games. BC’s defense made the adjustment it needed, continuing to be a roadblock for Tyrrell and SU.

“(BC’s) just a really good defensive unit,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said. “They typically put their best athletes on defense and they’re really athletic. And they run a style of defense that they pressure the ball and they want to cause turnovers and then they’re backed by a really good goalie.”

Published on May 25, 2024 at 1:10 am

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32