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s Emma Muchnick and the United States Under-20 squad routed Germany on Aug. 16, Muchnick’s parents, Jennifer and Jack, realized, “The real Emma’s back.” Growing up watching their daughter play, the Muchnicks received the same compliment from other parents: the way she plays, you’d expect her to be a b*tch, but her personality was far from it.
An Under-Armour All-American, Muchnick often overcame any challenge. Then, college came, and something seemed off. Her parents didn’t see the same relaxation. The same comfort.
Transferring to Syracuse for 2024 after spending her freshman year at Maryland partially helped Muchnick, but she still wasn’t back. With Team USA in Hong Kong, Jennifer saw a “warrior spirit” reappear, and Muchnick was set free.
“She knew she made it to (Hong Kong), so she belonged, she deserved it,” Jack said. “Once you get to that mental state, you can just relax.”
Following her sophomore year with the Orange, Muchnick played with the top college players in the country on the 2024 U.S. Women’s U20 National Team. As the U.S. played seven games from Aug. 16-24 in Hong Kong, going undefeated and totaling a plus-191 scoring margin en route to a gold medal, Muchnick rediscovered herself as a player. Now, she’s set to star in SU’s midfield as the program chases its first NCAA Championship.
“Playing for the U.S. is truly unmatched,” Muchnick said. “It’s super emotional, because I’m playing for the entire country.”
Initially, Muchnick was forced to decline a chance at her dream of playing for the U.S. As her freshman year at Maryland ended in 2023, an opportunity to try out for the 2024 United States U20 squad opened.
Representing her country on the grandest stage was a bucket-list item for Muchnick. The timing, however, was off. Muchnick entered the transfer portal just before receiving the invitation and knew she couldn’t give her all to both simultaneously.
Devastated, she declined the invite. Muchnick was frustrated in the following weeks, often imagining if things would be different if she wasn’t in the portal. A year later, Muchnick found her footing at SU and began getting back to her old self. Four days before the Orange’s NCAA Tournament game against Stony Brook, Muchnick received a text from Syracuse legend and U.S. assistant coach Michelle Tumolo inviting her to try out again.
It was a second chance at her dream, and she didn’t squander it.
“I knew deep down, this is fate,” Muchnick said.
Muchnick’s marquee moment came on Aug. 21 in the U.S.’s first playoff game. Playing in the 6-on-6 format, she scored twice, assisted two goals, caused two turnovers and collected four draw controls.
After collecting the Player of the Match honor, Muchnick’s next stop was the stands. She embraced Jack, Jennifer and her three younger siblings.
Jack admittedly was a “bucket of tears” at the moment. He was proud to see his daughter thriving on a national stage, but he also knew how close she was to not having the opportunity.
Muchnick participated in the National Team Development program throughout her career at Suffern High School (New York) before receiving an invitation again to play for the U.S. following her year at UMD. With the Terrapins, Muchnick scored seven goals in 13 games but entered the transfer portal. She was “torn” on not accepting the invitation.
“It was chaotic. It was sad just to see her internal struggle,” Jack said.
She initially declined, and a year with the Orange was almost complete. Then came Tumolo’s text. Tumolo, along with Northwestern and Team USA head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, said after a few injuries, the coaching staff was looking for midfielders. At Syracuse, Muchnick totaled 27 points.
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The invitation afforded her a chance to try out for the team but didn’t fully guarantee a spot. Everything then began to fall into place. The application process for the team began in March 2023. The camps started with about 100 players and were cut down at each stage.
Muchnick first arrived in June 2024 at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a three-day training camp that cut the roster down to 22. A week later, Muchnick was told she made the cut.
Despite joining the team late in the process, Muchnick’s play style and personality made her a quick fit. Tumolo’s first observation of Muchnick was her speed. Assistant coach and Colorado head coach Ann Elliott Whidden praised her hustle. Together, the coaching staff quickly realized Muchnick was a perfect match.
“As far as coming late, you would have never known. She came right in, and you would have thought that she was there from day one,” Tim McCormack, Johns Hopkins’ head coach and U.S. assistant, said.
Hiller used her in multiple ways on both sides of the field. One of the most used? On the circle.
JMU star Maddie Epke was one of the team’s top draw specialists and instantly built a connection with Muchnick. Both were the only players from their respective schools on the team and grew closer because of it. As Epke secured the draw, Muchnick was there to scoop up the ground balls, dominating possession for the team.
Emma Muchnick celebrates a score with Boston College attack Emma LoPinto in Hong Kong. Muchnick helped Team USA go undefeated and total a plus-191 in its seven games. Courtesy of USA Lacrosse
A few weeks after Muchnick made the team, they practiced at Northwestern for the first camp with the final rosters. Chemistry continued to grow within the group as they headed to Stanford before traveling to Hong Kong.
McCormack said the team continued to take shape through their time in Northwestern, using paddle boarding on Lake Michigan to build bonds. On Stanford’s campus, the staff started to see cohesion on the field.
The team’s 15-hour flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong departed at 1 a.m. After reaching the hotel, they napped for a few hours and began to explore.
Muchnick and Stanford’s Aliya Polisky walked the streets for about an hour, absorbing the new country’s sights and sounds. They reflected on what lacrosse afforded them and assessed the challenge ahead.
The incoming test was a grind. Seven games in nine days. Due to its sub-tropical climate, Hong Kong’s humidity also played a factor. To combat the humidity, players were weighed multiple times a day to ensure their water intake was sufficient.
The U.S. began its quest toward gold by dominating Germany. That’s when Jennifer turned to Jack and said, “The real Emma’s back.”
The beatdowns continued after Germany. First, a 28-4 win over Puerto Rico. Blowouts versus China and Israel ensued.
When the playoff rounds began, the U.S. continued rolling. Before each game, the team did visualization sessions to stay grounded. This helped Muchnick be awarded Player of the Match in a stellar game against Puerto Rico, which lifted Team USA to the semifinals. A 33-1 win over Australia pushed it into the gold medal game, and a 23-6 win over Canada sealed the deal.
The squad was full of talent. Twenty-two players from 14 top Division I programs filled the roster. Yet, Muchnick stood out.
“(Muchnick) in many ways was a heartbeat of the team,” Elliott Whidden said. “Just that person that was going to go out there and compete.”
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Fast forward to Jan. 10, over 18 months after Muchnick thought she wouldn’t play for Team USA, she found herself in Baltimore again. This time, she was receiving her championship ring.
As players received their rings, a video montage played. In the montage was the clip of Muchnick hugging her parents. Jack, once again, cried. It was a culminating moment.
A misstep at Maryland set her back. Now, she was at the right school and winning gold medals. When deciding to join the Terrapins out of high school, she chose them over Boston College.
At the time, current SU head coach Kayla Treanor was Muchnick’s lead recruiter with the Eagles. Like many young lacrosse players, Muchnick grew up idolizing Treanor. At a Team USA U15 Development Camp, Muchnick and Jennifer were in a hotel elevator when Treanor walked in. Muchnick had just done a camp at Boston College, and Treanor remembered her. After a brief exchange, Treanor exited the elevator, and Muchnick immediately yelled in excitement.
When Muchnick entered the transfer portal, Treanor called her and said, “I can’t believe I have another shot at possibly getting you.” On her official visit to Syracuse, Muchnick told Treanor the elevator story. At that moment, she realized SU was her place.
“I want to help you win,” Jennifer remembers Muchnick saying to Treanor. “I want to help us win the first national championship here at Syracuse.”
Muchnick’s reason for declining the initial invite for Team USA was to focus on finding her next destination. She found it at Syracuse and achieved her dream of playing for the U.S., too.
With refound confidence, the midfielder’s already received one ring in 2025. The next, Muchnick hopes, will finally get the Orange over the hump.
Photograph by Calysta Lee | Staff Photographer
Published on January 29, 2025 at 11:23 pm
Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky
