Syracuse falls to unbeaten Maryland

VILLANOVA, PA. >> No. 5 Syracuse came back from a three- goal halftime deficit to take the lead against No. 1 Maryland, but couldn’t hold on in an 11- 10 loss in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at Villanova Stadium. The Orange ends the season with an 18- 4 record, while the Terrapins improve to 22- 0 and will play North Carolina for the national championship on Sunday.

“I’m very proud of my team and the effort they gave throughout the entire game,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait . “They never gave up. They got down a couple of times but they rallied, fought back and gave it everything they had.”

The Orange trailed by three at halftime but goals by juniors Amy Cross and Alyssa Murray in the first three minutes of the second half brought SU within one at 8- 7. Kelly McPartland netted back- to- back goals, the second on a free position, to put the Terps back up by three to match its largest lead of the game with 25: 34 remaining.

Freshman Kayla Treanor sparked Syracuse’s comeback attempt when she beat her defender and Terps’ goalkeeper Kasey Howard for her third goal of the game. Junior Katie Webster cut the lead to one before Treanor scored again to tie the game at 9- 9 with 21: 00 remaining. Webster broke the tie, giving Syracuse its first lead of the game at 10- 9 with 18: 31 on the clock, marking the first time Maryland has trailed in more than 800 minutes of play. It would be SU’s final goal of the game.

The Orange won the ensuing draw but turned it over and Maryland took advantage, tying the game on McPartland’s goal at the 16: 51 mark. The score remained tied until the 2: 51 mark when the Terrapins took the lead for good. Twice Syracuse had possession of the ball behind its own net after missed shots by Maryland but turned it over both times. The Terrapins finally converted when Brooke Griffin scored the game winner on an assist from Schwarzmann. Maryland won the ensuing draw and ran out the clock for the victory.

“We made some mistakes when we had chances to make plays,” Gait said. “It’s tough. The pressure is on the kids in a tight game. You drop a pass, you didn’t back up the goal and you don’t score. It’s funny how time goes by when you score three or four in a row and then it becomes more diff icult to score. Both teams saw that in the second half.”

The Terrapins jumped out to an early lead with back- to- back goals in the f irst five minutes of the contest. Treanor put Syracuse on the scoreboard when she came from behind the left side of the goal and buried her shot at the 21: 56 mark. After Taylor Cummings converted a free position for the Terps, Treanor found freshman Kelly Cross cutting to the goal. Cross put her shot in the back of the net to cut the lead to one. The teams traded goals before the Terrapins registered the final two goals of the half to go into the locker room with a 7- 4 halftime lead.

Treanor capped a record- breaking freshman season with six points on four goals and two assists. The highest- scoring freshman in school history finishes the year with 95 points, which tie her for seventh on the school’s single- season scoring list. In addition, her 71 goals are the fourth- highest total in program history.

Maryland outshot Syracuse, 25- 19, and picked up 12 ground balls to nine for the Orange. The Terrapins held a slight advantage on the draw, winning 12- of- 22. Sophomore Kelsey Richardson made four saves in the first half, while junior Alyssa Costantino had five in the second half. Howard made three saves for the Terrapins.