I
n 2024, Syracuse cruised to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. And for the second year in a row, the Orange fell short of a national championship appearance, losing to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Boston College.
Still, SU made great strides. It clinched its first ACC outright regular-season title with an 8-1 conference record. The Orange enter 2025 in their fourth year under head coach Kayla Treanor. Despite a 49-15 record under Treanor, Syracuse is yet to win an ACC Tournament or appear in the national championship. SU looks to flip the script despite the departures of star players Emma Tyrrell, Kate Mashewske, Delaney Sweitzer and Katie Goodale, among other key contributors.
Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse women’s lacrosse will fare in 2025:
Aiden Stepansky
“Still The Same”
Record: 12-4, (7-2 ACC)
X-Factor: Alexa Vogelman
MVP: Olivia Adamson
Bob Seger’s 1978 hit “Still the Same” details falling for the same trick over and over again. Or, at least that’s how I interpret it. That’s how Syracuse has fared lately. And despite a few marked changes to the Orange’s personnel, they’ll end with the same result.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. A team consistently making the Final Four is no easy feat. But if I learned anything from last season, there’s a different echelon of women’s lacrosse that only two teams fit into currently. And I don’t see any teams breaking through BC or Northwestern. The Orange will return to Championship Weekend once again, and again fall in the Final Four.
My main concern with this team is the defensive unit. Sweitzer’s exit for Northwestern along with the exit of Goodale, Hallie Simkins and Bianca Chevarie practically revamps the entire front outside of Kaci Benoit and Coco Vandiver. Despite departures from leading scorer Tyrrell, Mashewske on the faceoff and Natalie Smith in the midfield, I think Syracuse has answers to fill all offensive voids.
Alexa Vogelman will be key to success, showcasing why she was the No. 5 player in the 2023 class. Olivia Adamson can fill Tyrrell’s role while continuing to build chemistry with Emma Ward. It will be another exciting season filled with huge wins and domination, but come crunch time, SU will fall short.
Noah Nussbaum
New Emma, same story
Record: 11-5 (6-3 ACC)
X-Factor: Emma Muchnick
MVP: Emma Ward
Last season for Syracuse, it was the Emmas show. Tyrrell and Ward combined for 114 goals and 59 assists, leading the Orange to one of their best campaigns in recent memory. Their first outright regular-season ACC title. A Final Four appearance. But still, they couldn’t get over the hump and win a national championship.
And after losing numerous key contributors, including Tyrrell and Smith on offense and virtually its entire defense, as my fellow scribe Aiden mentioned, I don’t see SU reaching those same heights in 2025.
With that being said, I do think the Orange will have another strong regular season. They retain second and third-leading scorers Adamson and Ward, who I see having no trouble replicating last year’s success. Syracuse also has a new Emma who should see an expanded role in the midfield in Emma Muchnick, who contributed 14 goals and 13 assists last season off the bench.
Still, I don’t see this being enough to contend with the country’s top teams. Syracuse has shown in recent years it can’t get past BC, including going 0-3 against them in 2024. If SU wants a chance at a national title, it will need to clip the Eagles’ wings. But ultimately, that won’t happen, dashing the Orange’s hopes again.
Matthew Gray
“The Standard … Is the Standard”
Record: 11-5 (5-4 ACC)
X-Factor: Coco Vandiver
MVP: Olivia Adamson
When I think about Syracuse, it reminds me of my hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. Since winning their sixth Super Bowl in 2009, they have consistently fallen short in the postseason year after year. Following Syracuse’s last ACC Championship in 2015, the Orange have found themselves amid a similar plight, bowing out of their last eight conference playoff appearances.
Like the Steelers, wilting when it matters most has become Syracuse’s standard in recent seasons and I have no reason to believe 2025 will be different.
While SU’s attack is weaker, Ward and Adamson should build off their 80-plus point campaigns to guide its attack. Still, after losing draw control specialists in Mashewske, it’s hard to imagine goals will come as easily for SU this season.
Where I believe SU will be held back most will be in the defensive end. Goodale and Chevarie, who accounted for 25% of Syracuse’s ground balls last season, will be missed as SU’s defensive core will have to rebuild around returners. Sweitzer’s transfer has left a noticeable hole in the net, and it may take too long for SU to find a goalie who can fill it.
Despite its slightly new look, I believe 2025 will extend SU’s habit of making noise in the postseason, but never enough to finish the job.
Photograph by Joe Zhao | Design Editor
Published on January 29, 2025 at 11:24 pm
