Syracuse women’s lacrosse earned a top-five victory Thursday, defeating No. 4 Northwestern 9-6 at Ryan Fieldhouse. The No. 15 Orange improved to 5-3 overall and secured their second upset of the season.
Molly Guzik led Syracuse with a career-high six goals. Mackenzie Rich assisted on three of those goals, while Bri Peters, Caroline Trinkaus and Rich each added a goal. Defensively, Syracuse limited Northwestern’s high-powered offense and held star attacker Madison Taylor to one goal while former Orange player Olivia Adamson was held scoreless.
Northwestern struck first early in the opening quarter, but Syracuse responded quickly with two goals from Guzik, both assisted by Rich. Guzik added a third goal later in the quarter to give the Orange an early advantage as Syracuse controlled the pace and outshot Northwestern in the opening period.
The Orange extended their lead in the second quarter. Guzik scored again early in the period and Peters added a goal from the right side to push the lead to three. Northwestern answered with a pair of goals to close the gap, but Syracuse carried a 5-4 lead into halftime.
The teams traded limited scoring opportunities early in the second half before Rich extended the lead with a goal. Trinkaus added another tally late in the third quarter to make it 7-4.
Guzik continued her standout performance in the fourth quarter, scoring twice more to help Syracuse maintain control and seal the win.
Syracuse returns home Tuesday, March 17 to face No. 6 Yale. Opening draw is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].