The Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse saw their season end Sunday in Annapolis after sixth-seeded Navy Midshipmen women’s lacrosse erased a six-goal deficit for an 11-10 overtime victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse finished the season 13-7, while Navy improved to 20-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals after Alyssa Chung scored the game-winner in the extra frame.
Syracuse appeared firmly in control after dominating the first half. The Orange answered an early 2-0 deficit by scoring nine of the next 10 goals, building a 9-3 lead entering halftime. Caroline Trinkaus delivered one of the best performances of her career with four goals and two assists, while Molly Guzik added a hat trick. Mackenzie Rich contributed a goal and assist during a decisive second-quarter surge, and Emma Muchnick capped a 5-0 run late in the half.
The Orange defense continued its strong postseason form by limiting one of the nation’s top offenses for much of the afternoon. Izzy Lahah led Syracuse with three caused turnovers, while Kaci Benoit, Coco Vandiver and Courtney McLay each forced two turnovers. But Navy slowly chipped away in the second half behind Chung and Maggie DeFabio, eventually tying the game on Anna Gotterup’s goal with 1:09 remaining in regulation before Chung ended it on the opening possession of overtime.
Sunday’s loss closed Regy Thorpe’s first season as Syracuse head coach after guiding the Orange to a four-win improvement from last year and a trip to the NCAA Tournament second round.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.