Meaghan Tyrrell spun over her right shoulder behind the net against Connecticut on Feb. 8 and headed toward the opposite sideline. With Jacqueline Manno on her right hip, Tyrrell shuffled a pass to Megan Carney, who had hooked behind the goal. Manno, confused by the action, froze.

The hesitation gave Carney a step on Manno, which is all she needed to loop around the crease for her first career goal. It was the 15th score of the game for Syracuse, which, in its first game of the season, already had its offense running smoothly.

Six games later, No. 4 Syracuse (6-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) has scored the second-most goals in the country (109), and its two freshman attackers have been a major reason why. Carney, a Texas-native, has started every game for the Orange this season and is fourth on the team with 13 goals. Her counterpart Tyrrell has 11 scores and is tied for second on SU with six assists. Despite different backgrounds and styles of play, the two freshmen have bolstered a potentially historic Orange offense — 15.57 goals a game, most in a decade.

“I think Meg Carney’s a little flashier, plays a little different style, big outside shot,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “(Meaghan) Tyrrell’s just a grinder that keeps her head up and keeps that stick protected and finds a way to the net, just slightly different styles, but both effective.”

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Carney’s flashier-style of play has been effective for SU of late. After starting slow and scoring just one goal against Connecticut, Carney went five-straight games with at least two goals. That culminated against then-No. 13 Loyola on Wednesday, when she scored a career-high three goals and led the Orange with five points.

“(Carney’s) a good player because she has that IQ,” Nicole Levy said. “So she dodges with her head up so she’ll get the assist, but when she scores her goals, it’s because she’s getting herself in the right position.”

While Carney stands 5-foot-5, Tyrrell is one of the smallest players on the team at 5-foot-2. Despite her smaller size, Tyrrell’s been successful in fighting for position inside. That led to goals near the crease, much closer to the net than where Carney usually scores from.

Tyrrell had the best game of her college career to this point against Connecticut, as she poured in two goals and three assists to pace the Orange offense with five points. The Mount Sinai-native has been praised by Gait and her teammates for her vision and ball control on offense. Of the six SU players who have scored at least eight goals this year, Tyrrell has the lowest amount of turnovers (3).

“They give us a bit of a different look down below, because I think they can both dodge, and they can both feed,” Gait said on Feb. 11. “… It’s gonna be a positive for our offense.”

Meaghan Tyrrell is fifth on Syracuse with 11 goals in the Orange’s first seven games. Tyrrell and Megan Carney are the only two freshmen with double digit goals. TJ Shaw | Staff Photographer

Carney’s powerful shot proved useful on Feb. 24 against then-No. 4 Northwestern when, with 25 seconds left in the game, she tied the contest at 14 and sent it into overtime. Syracuse eventually won the game in overtime thanks to a game-winning goal by Emily Hawryschuk, giving SU its first win over a ranked team this season.

The game-tying goal came as a surprise to her, but not to one of her teammates. Bella Recchion, who Carney said is always the voice she hears from the sidelines telling her to keep shooting, predicted the score before it happened. During a timeout with 1:58 left in regulation, Recchion pulled Carney aside and predicted that she would get the last shot, which the freshman converted off a pass from Sam Swart.

Hawryschuk, Syracuse’s leading scorer, praised the underclassmen in the attack group for acting like “vets” on and off the field. She explained that despite her and Levy’s overwhelming experience advantage over the rest of SU’s group of attackers, it’s been an “easy transition” playing with fellow starters Carney and Tyrrell. The two have scored 24 goals combined through just seven games, eight goals more than freshmen attackers scored all of last season.

With its two most inexperienced attackers playing as if they’re upperclassmen, Syracuse is having nearly unparalleled success offensively. That combination of confidence and results is a recipe for success, Natalie Wallon said.

“They’re playing smart,” Wallon said of Carney and Tyrrell after SU’s win over Loyola. “They’re not going out there, taking those typical freshman shots. That’s hard to teach, and when somebody has that knowledge and discipline on themselves to make the right goals, it’s gonna be hard to stop us.”

Published on March 4, 2019 at 10:43 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34