Syracuse, N.Y. — Orange goaltender Delaney Sweitzer made three saves in the final four minutes of regulation in Syracuse women's lacrosse's Top 10 game against Maryland. This is almost one-third of the match total.
With the score tied at 8-8 at that point and SU's last goal coming five minutes early, Sweitzer was doing everything in his power to keep the Terrapins from sealing the game.
She was successful, but Maryland kept trailing in overtime. Hannah Lubecker got past Sweitzer for a goal, and Sweitzer dove to her left when Leubecker's shot hit her right, giving Maryland the win.
“We stopped them as much as we could and in the end they worked hard for it,” Sweitzer said.
Syracuse University's double-overtime loss to Maryland on Saturday afternoon was a defensive battle featuring two extended scoring droughts, with both teams finishing with less than 10 goals. The final score was 9-8, Terrapins.
Sweitzer and Maryland goaltender Emily Sterling combined for 19 saves in the game. Schweitzer had a save percentage of 52.6%. Schweitzer finished with 52.9%.
Both offenses finished with fewer than 30 total shots and fewer than 20 shots on goal.
SU head coach Kayla Treanor and Maryland coach Kathy Reese each praised the play of Sweitzer and Sterling after the game.
“I think Emily and Delaney are two of the best goalies in the country,” Reese said. “That part of the game is some of the best you'll see in our sport this season.”
Reese said the team's defensive success was a result of staying consistent and sticking to a plan to attack an Orange offense that was top 25 in scoring and top 10 in shooting percentage at the start of the game.
Lubecker said the University of Maryland's Scout defense gave her side a lot of good reps in practice this week.
The way the University of Maryland defends Syracuse is different than what the Orange team saw on tape of the Terrapins' first game against St. Joseph's, especially the way they slide into SU's offense. Ta.
Treanor said the technique wasn't new. The Orange have seen it from other teams as well.
The first period forced a lot of adjustments and ended 3-1 in Maryland's favor, but Syracuse's offense still couldn't find its rhythm against the Terps. His shooting percentage in this game was 33.3%, his worst performance of the season.
One of Syracuse's most egregious missed opportunities was a shot clock violation in the final minute of regulation. Attacker Olivia Adamson, who led Syracuse in scoring with two goals and one assist, admitted it was simply a result of not paying enough attention to the clock.
SU had a shot in overtime by Emma Ward, but only one shot was saved by Sterling.
The Orange defense stopped the Terps' possession and forced a second overtime, but Leubecker ended the game less than 30 seconds into the second frame.
Maryland was man up at the time after getting a green card against SU.
“We had a lot of chances to win in that game, but in the end we just didn't make the plays we needed to to win,” Treanor said. “It was really back-and-forth. It's definitely a great college lacrosse game. I thought both defenses played really well…but in the end we had to make plays at the end.”
Syracuse could move into the top 50 in scoring defense pending the results of this weekend's other games, potentially increasing its goals per game average from 12.5 to 11.
They will face a difficult test next weekend against Notre Dame, who currently ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring. The University of Maryland's offense was No. 22 entering Saturday.
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