Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse 2025 Season Preview
By Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse Beat Reporters: Jake Klein (@kleinjake_), Sydney Chan (@SydneyO_Chan), Milo Hoffman (@mhoffnyc)
Syracuse women’s lacrosse enters 2025 having been hit hard by graduation. Perhaps the best three players from last season’s run to Championship Weekend – leading scorer Emma Tyrrell, draw ace Kate Mashewske and All-American goalie Delanie Sweitzer – are gone. But that doesn’t mean nobody stuck around. Attacker Olivia Adamson (83 points last season) returns and will likely take over at the draw circle. So does attacker Emma Ward (81) who will continue to quarterback an offense that’ll need some less familiar faces to step up. Even with the roster turnover, SU remains talented and the ACC schedule offers no rest for the wicked. Here’s CitrusTV’s game-by-game preview of 6th-ranked Syracuse’s 2025 schedule:
February 7th, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs UAlbany | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 8-10 (5-1 America East Conference)
Syracuse starts its season with an in-state battle against UAlbany. History definitely points to this one being a comfortable win for SU. In 17 games against the Great Danes, the Orange are undefeated. But UAlbany has gotten some recognition this off-season. In the pre-season American East Conference (AEC) Rankings, the Great Danes are picked to finish second. This comes after three straight conference finals appearances where they went 1-2. There are a couple key returners for UAlbany, none bigger than Midfielder Grace McCauley. Last season, the now senior, scored a team-high 37 goals. A campaign good enough to earn her a spot on the 2025 All AEC pre-season team. Even so, SU has too much firepower on the other side. Attackers Emma Ward and Olivia Adamson were both recognized on the USA Lacrosse Preseason All America list. Look for this duo to wreak havoc in the season opener.
February 15th, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at #7 Maryland | College Park, MD
Record last season: 14-6 (4-2 Big Ten Conference)
A Challenge awaits Syracuse in the second game of the year. An away clash against Maryland. This is actually the Terps season opener, so perhaps MD will be a bit more rested. Nevertheless, this is a rematch of an overtime thriller from last season that saw the Terps out duel the Orange 9-8. The game winning goal went to Attacker Hannah Leubecker who also had a hattrick on the day. A performance that caused SU nightmares. The good news for the ‘Cuse is that Leubecker will not be on the field this time around as she has since graduated. Revenge will be on Syracuse’s mind in the first real challenge of the season.
February 18th, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs Cornell | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 7-8 (2-5 IVY League)
Syracuse returns to the Dome to face Cornell, another in-state battle. Last season in Ithaca, The Orange took down the Big Red 17-4 after Emma Tyrell scored just 18 seconds into the contest. The player to look out for the ‘Cuse is Cornell Attacker Josie Vogel. The senior tallied 35 goals… midfielder Kylie Gelabert had the second most on the team with 21. Vogel has a great history against SU as well, with a hattrick back in 2023. If the Orange defense, which was middle of the pack in the ACC last year, is able to stop Vogel from taking over the game, then all signs point to this being a comfortable win. SU has taken 17 straight from Cornell.
February 22nd, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at #4 North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC
Record last season: 10-7 (6-3 ACC)
Chapel Hill is where Syracuse plays its first conference game of the year against UNC. It’s head coach Jenny Levy’s 30th season with the Tar Heels, and this time around she’s got some fresh faces. Seven true freshmen and six transfers have joined UNC this past off-season. But even with a couple of new look players, the anchors are still there. The Tar Heels had five players make the preseason All America team… that’s the second most in the nation. Junior Brooklyn Walker-Welch, who’s seen as one of the best Defenders in the country, made the First team. SU hopes this game goes similarly to the one last year against UNC, where they won 20-5 inside the Dome. But this will be the toughest challenge for the ‘Cuse thus far. The Heels are ranked fourth on Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason poll.
February 25th, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #2 Northwestern | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 10-7 (6-3 ACC)
One of the best teams in the country in Northwestern pays a trip to the dome. A rematch of last year’s season opener. The Wildcats, who are ranked second on Inside Lacrosse’s preseason poll have clear cut championship aspirations. Last season, NW had one of the best dynamic duo’s in the nation with Attackers Madison Taylor and Izzy Scane… both had over 80 goals. Scane will not be returning this year because of graduation, but Madison Taylor, a senior, is poised for another standout season. This will be a tough challenge for SU, with its lack of experience in goal following Delaney Sweitzer’s transfer to… Northwestern. The former ‘Cuse goalie will be back in the Dome and ready to show the Orange why she’s still one of the best in the business. Perhaps this is an opportunity for GK’s Daniella Guyette and Bella Abbott to show they’re made for the moment.
March 1, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #21 Clemson | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 11-7 (3-6 ACC)
The Tigers visit the Dome to kick off March and, after Clemson swiped a pair of next year’s five-star recruits away from SU, the Orange surely want this one. Clemson, undoubtedly, is on the rise, and cracked the preseason Top 25 for the first time ever at number 21, but is still seemingly a year or two from competing with the top dogs. Leading scorer Claire Bockstie departs, but numbers two and three from last year – Regan Byrne and Kayla MacLeod – both return, plus the 4th-ranked recruit in this year’s freshman class, Jazzy Stanton, does too.
March 7, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #20 Stanford | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 13-5 (7-0 Pacific 12 Conference)
While the jokes write themselves about the Cardinal joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, non-revenue sports like women’s lacrosse have Stanford and Cal (and other distantly relocated teams nationwide) in a tough spot. The 20th-ranked Cardinal have to make three different cross-country flights in the span of a few months, including one to face Syracuse and Cornell in a matter of days. Stanford made its first NCAA Tournament in six years last season. Aliya Polisky, a 71-point scorer last year and a preseason All-American, is primed to take another jump and lead the Cardinal.
March 10, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #11 Johns Hopkins | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 12-8 (2-4 Big Ten Conference)
After nearly upending Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament then narrowly falling to Yale in the NCAA Tournament, #11 Hopkins returns for 2025 with a sour taste in its mouth. Hop returns leading scorers Ava Angello and Asley Mackin. But Bailey Cheetham, who played the quarterback role for Hopkins, is gone, so an already shaky offense will have to reshape itself. But JHU is alway stout defensively. Offensive consistency and success with a revamped draw unit will be key if the Blue Jays want to knock off the Orange and make a run deep into May.
March 15, 2025 | Syracuse at Pittsburgh | Highmark Stadium
Record last season: 5-13 (0-9 Big Ten Conference)
Next, perhaps the easiest game on SU’s schedule, and certainly the lightest conference competition. Pitt went just 5-13 last year, lost every single ACC game, and was drubbed 16-7 by Syracuse. What the Panthers do have going for them, the return more than just about any team in the conference. Plus they add an All-MAC attacker from Youngstown State in Natalie Calandra-Ryan and a Division-II star in goalie Audrey Moran. Still, expect SU – and most of the ACC – to handle business against Pitt.
March 19, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at #10 Loyola | Baltimore, Maryland
Record last season: 18-3 (9-0 Patriot League)
Loyola presents one of the most unheralded tough challenges on Syracuse’s schedule in 2025. The 10th-ranked Greyhounds are led by Chase Boyle, perhaps the odds-on favorite for the Tewaaraton Award, who scored 85 times last year and ranked fifth nationally with 208 draw controls. But she’s not even the top scorer Loyola returns. Attacker Georgia Latch (62G, 40A) is back in the saddle. So too are stellar defender Lily Osborne, the team’s leader in ground balls a year ago, and goalie Lauren Spence. The latter should be the key to success for the ’Hounds in 2025, against the Orange and in general. She was the Goalkeeper of the Year in the Patriot League in 2023, then struggled at times in ’24. If Spence is back on solid footing in 2025 and Boyle has the attack clicking on all cylinders, this road game in Baltimore could not only be against one of the best teams on SU’s schedule, but in the country.
March 23, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #13 Notre Dame | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 16-4 (7-2 ACC)
Need proof that the ACC is the best league in women’s college lacrosse? Look no further than Notre Dame, ranked preseason at the sixth best team in the conference, but the 13th best in the entire country. In such a top-heavy, crowded league, it’s easy to overlook the Irish, but they’re another team that surely has the talent to sneak up and bite Syracuse when it visits the Dome. No doubt, ND was rocked by graduation, with a trio of all-time greats, Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak departing alongside 14 other seniors. But that clears the floor for Madison Rassas, the star freshman from Washington D.C. to lead a lightning-fast offensive pace. Notre Dame, even in a retooling year, is going to clip a few teams from behind. Syracuse just has to make sure it isn’t one of them.
March 29, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #9 Virginia | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 15-5 (6-3 ACC)
Next, Syracuse hosts UVA, led by second-year Head Coach Sonia LaMonia. Winning draws will be crucial in this game for both sides. The Cavaliers were 100th in D1 WLAX in draw wins last year — just 44 percent. Sophomore midfielder Kate Galica set UVA’s single-season freshman record with 97 draw controls and led her team last season and will likely continue to improve in this role. On the other hand, the Orange lost midfielder Kate Mashewske to graduation. Mashewske was SU’s top draw-control specialist (DCS) and arguably one of the best in the entire NCAA — with Mashewske in the driver’s seat, the Cuse tallied the fifth-best draw control percentage in the nation last year. This season, SU brings in Princeton-transfer and DCS Sam DeVito, who certainly has big cleats to fill.
April 2, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at #8 Yale | New Haven, CT
Record last season: 17-3 (7-0 Ivy League)
SU begins a three-game road trip in New Haven to take on Yale, a team with a ton of veteran experience. The Bulldogs return just about everyone to their squad — including 16 seniors and the team’s top seven goal scorers — from last season’s historic 2024 run. Yale secured a program-best 17 victories and a first-time Ivy League crown and was also ranked seventh in the 2024 USA Lacrosse national poll. The teams last met during the 2024 NCAA Quarterfinals. No. 3 Syracuse topped No. 6 Yale 19-9 to clinch their tenth Final Four appearance.
April 5, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at Cal | Berkeley, CA
Record last season: 5-10 (2-5 PAC-12)
Right after, the Orange fly cross-country to Northern California to battle new-ACC member Cal. The ACC is recognized as one of the top women’s lacrosse conferences, so adapting from the Pac-12 is a challenge. The Golden Bears are piloted by third-year Head Coach Jennifer Wong, who led the team to their most victories since 2019 in her first two seasons. SU has only ever played Berkeley twice and won both times. In February of 2009, their last matchup, the Cuse demolished, 18-2. Cal lost its two top leading scorers — Mya Wang and Kennedy Goss — but still have their third top-leading scorer in junior Josie Lillquist. The team also welcomes 10 freshmen to their 2025 roster, who have combined to reap eight All-America prep selections and nine All-State honors.
April 12, 2025 | #6 Syracuse at Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA
Record last season: 9-9 (2-5 ACC)
For its penultimate contest of the regular season, Syracuse heads to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech. The Hokies lost their starting goalkeeper Jocelyn Torres to Ohio State, but welcomes transfer Aaliyah Jones this season to fill that role. After finishing her undergrad degree at Stony Brook, Jones was key to the Seawolves’ journey to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2024. The Cuse also lost its starting goaltender, Delaney Sweitzer, to Northwestern. Sweitzer has established herself as one of the best goaltenders in the nation. Dangerously for Syracuse, the team doesn’t currently have goalkeepers with significant starting experience in the NCAA on the roster.
April 17, 2025 | #6 Syracuse vs #1 Boston College | JMA Wireless Dome
Record last season: 20-3 (7-2 ACC)
Syracuse rounds out regular season play with a matchup against the reigning
NCAA champs, Boston College. The last time the Orange battled the Eagles was during last year’s NCAA Semifinals. SU put numbers on the board first, with a Maddy Baxter goal just 25 seconds into the game; but ultimately, BC came out on top, 10-7, and proceeded to win the natty.
Although the Eagles have lost several talented players, the defending champs return this season with their star goalie — Shea Dolce — and top three scorers — Rachel Clark, Mckenna Davis and Emma LoPinto. The Cuse has undoubtedly also lost several key performers; but optimistically, the team will have compensated for those gaps in their roster by this point and can threaten the Eagles’ run.
Follow Jake Klein (@kleinjake_), Sydney Chan (@SydneyO_Chan), and Milo Hoffman (@mhoffnyc) for coverage of Syracuse Women’s Lacrosse all season long!
