lacrosse guide 2022
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‘RETURN TO DOMINANCE’ Gary Gait reunites SU’s storied past with hopes to return program to glory By Roshan Fernandez senior staff writer
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ithin days of returning from Championship Weekend, Charlie Lockwood remembers Syracuse parents making plans for the same weekend next year. The Memorial Day weekend was tiring, so the parents rested a few days. But soon after, the “team moms” were reaching out to find and reserve groups of hotel rooms. For over two decades, SU’s return to Championship Weekend was considered “automatic.” Gary Gait wasn’t playing at Syracuse for the start of the 22 consecutive final four appearances in 1983, but many alumni point to him as the “peak” of the program’s success and as the greatest player ever. He won back-to-back-to-back national championships (1988-90), the only time that’s happened in program history, and revolutionized the sport of lacrosse in the process. “Gary was part of so many of those teams in that environment,” said Lockwood, a former player from 1991-94. “(Winning is) ingrained in him.” In June, Gait replaced Hall of Fame coach John Desko, making Gait just the fifth head coach in SU’s storied 106-year history. But in recent years, Syracuse has been slipping away from the consistency of greatness that it established back when Gait was a player. The longest final four drought since the early 1980s means parents probably aren’t booking hotels a year in advance anymore, Lockwood said. Gait’s hiring brings optimism that the program can restore that standard, one that he helped set. It washed a refreshing feeling over the alumni community, one of excitement and promise for the future. “When you bring in the greatest player of all time, it just gives you hope that Syracuse will be a mainstay on Championship Weekend for years to come,” said Paul Carcaterra, an ESPN analyst and former SU player from 1994-97. “He brings hope for a return to dominance.” Over the years, thousands of people have asked Gait if he wanted the men’s head coaching job, but he never outwardly expressed interest, said Tom Marechek, a former player from 1989-92. The community was bracing itself for its first-ever outside hire as a head coach, as many thought Gait would be reluc-
tant to take the job given how close he came to a national championship with the women’s program last year. Gait said it would’ve been ideal to “go out on the top,” but he said that the program is in good hands with Kayla Treanor. “This is just another one of those great opportunities in life that comes up, and I jumped at it,” Gait said on Feb. 3. Sergio Salcido called Gait’s hiring fortuitous. He was the best candidate for the job, many alumni said, but he was an even better fit because he used to wear the Syracuse jersey, said Ryan Powell, a former player from 1997-2000. He understands the program’s tradition, one that “started with the Gait brothers,” Salcido said. He understands where the program started, where it evolved to and where it’s going, said Todd Curry, a former player from 1984-87. The transition from Desko to Gait felt like a comfortable, natural fit, Desko and many others said. “People wouldn’t want it any other way,” Powell said. “They want somebody with the history of Syracuse lacrosse, and (somebody) that has won the big games and played in the Dome.” Before Gait, there was the “West Genny Way.” Named after the style of lacrosse at West Genesee High School, the game was played very much by the book. Hold your stick by your ear while throwing and catching, and nothing else. The near-robotic approach worked, but there was never any flashiness in the way the game was played, said JoJo Marasco, a former SU player from 2010-13. Gait changed that. When Gait arrived at Syracuse, he got the green light from then-head coach Roy Simmons Jr. and his assistant, Desko, to be more creative. Gait used the skills developed while playing Canadian box lacrosse to score on the run between his legs and toss 30-yard passes behind the back, among other things. “If there was social media when the Gaits played, they would be the lacrosse players with a million followers,” said Ric Beardsley, a former player from 1992-95. “There’s one Gary Gait, and there will never be another.” Gait’s fearlessness and willingness to continue trying new things would later revolutionize the sport into a more free-flowing game, Marechek said. Both Simmons and Desko advocated for “artistry,” Curry said. They wanted Gait to try new things, and almost everything he tried worked.
Gary Gait holds Syracuse’s records for career goals, goals in a season and goals in a single game
In the 1988 final four against UPenn, Gait jumped from behind the crease and dunked the ball under the crossbar in a play that’s since been dubbed Air Gait. “I call it the shot heard around the world,” Desko said, adding that everyone on the field that day was shocked and the officials had no idea what to do since the move had never been executed before. Lacrosse has changed drastically over the last five decades, stretching far beyond what used to be the three major hotbeds (Baltimore, Long Island and upstate New York). The sport has hit so many huge milestones, but Carcaterra said the “single biggest influence” on lacrosse has still been Gait. “He was the greatest gift to our sport,” said Michelle Tumolo, a former women’s lacrosse player who Gait coached at SU from 2010-13. After Gait’s time at SU, previously unorthodox moves became routine. Behindthe-backs weren’t considered showboating — oftentimes, they were the correct, functional passses to make. The game had more flair, and later generations were inspired. The Powell brothers pretended to be the Gaits while playing in their yard, Powell said. The Thompson brothers molded their game similarly to Gait’s, Carcaterra said. Marasco watched film of Gait two decades later “in awe” and tried to emulate his game. He walked downstairs to Gait’s office, which sat directly below Desko’s, from time to time to pick his brain. So did Salcido as well as a small handful of other players. Later in his professional playing career, Gait became an assistant coach for the Maryland women’s lacrosse program. He said he was prepared to teach his stick skills because he and his brother coached a peewee team at age 15, joking they were probably the youngest coaches ever. Gait knew then he liked coaching, but he said he hadn’t thought about it much until the opportunity arose to join Maryland’s staff. Gait’s competitiveness rubbed off on the Maryland players, then-head coach Cindy Timchal said. He was on the staff for nine years, and the team won an astounding seven consecutive national championships. “If I would say during a scrimmage or during a practice that ‘the next goal wins,’ he would want to score the next goal,” Timchal
said, referencing times when Gait would join the team’s drills to demonstrate certain concepts. “It’s just a mentality.” Gait was — and still is — a selfless coach ready to share all his knowledge with his players, Timchal said. Great players don’t automatically make great coaches, but numerous SU alums who are close to Gait said he’s both. His roots as a creative, innovative player means he creates a similar, unconstrained environment for the players he coaches, Carcaterra and Curry said. Gait makes every player on the roster feel valued, Timchal said, so they step up when their number is called. Beardsley said Gait’s ability to explain complex concepts and X’s and O’s is “magical.” What takes him five minutes to implement with kids will take other good coaches 30 minutes, Beardsley added. Gait has an “aura” that makes players want to impress him, Marasco said. On the recruiting trail, Gait brings “instant credibility,” Marechek said. His name still strikes a chord with not only young players, but their high school coaches as well as parents, friends and other family members who know his name as well, Powell said. “He’s a straight legend,” Beardsley said, adding that young lacrosse players today still know who Gait is because of social media. To Curry, a recruiting visit from Gait is like New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick coming to your house: You’re in awe, he said. Gait’s roots should also help Syracuse regain some of the top-level Canadian talent that’s been going elsewhere over recent years, said Marechek, who’s from Victoria, British Columbia just like Gait. It’ll take time for Gait to build the program his way — the 2022 recruiting class is still Desko’s — but the assumption is that Gait will “crush it” because his name alone changes the entire recruiting dynamic for SU, Carcaterra said. On the field, the results might not come instantly, either. Gait’s hiring doesn’t mean an automatic championship this season, and fans need to be patient, Carcaterra cautioned. But there’s already a different “feel” on the field because of the respect that the best-of-the-best command, Curry said. SU’s alumni base is hopeful that Gait will deliver — Beardsley said Gait can build the same thing he did with the women’s program, and he can do it quicker than expected. “(Winning) kind of exudes from his being,” said Brad Kotz, a former player from 1982-85. “A lot of it is organic.” Syracuse has the resources, commitment and tradition to stay on par with programs like Maryland and Duke, Carcaterra said. The loss to Georgetown in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament felt like a “breaking point” for the program, Kotz said. “We were not Syracuse lacrosse on that field,” he said. But Gait brings hope of restoring the brand of Syracuse lacrosse. He’s played with the best-of-the-best and coached the best-of-the-best all his life. Salcido called Gait, and the Simmons family, the “glue” that holds the SU lacrosse pyramid together. Gait was crucial to the foundation of that pyramid, Salcido said. “He’s the staple and the standard,” Salcido said. “If the guy who sets the standard for the program is at the helm, then the standard for that team has got to be pretty high.” appeal to younger students, including roshan.fernandez168@gmail.com @roshan_f16
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NEXT IN LINE
Kayla Treanor returns to Syracuse with her distinctive qualities as a head coach By Henry O’Brien asst. digital editor
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sa Goldstock was in middle school when she fi rst met Kayla Treanor. They lived in the same neighborhood and Treanor coached in Goldstock’s recreational lacrosse league, making the two practically family, Goldstock said. When Syracuse trailed by six in the fi nal seconds of the 2021 National Championship game, Goldstock had run outside the 8-meter to attempt to regain possession. Boston College continued to pass the ball around its attack, realizing it was seconds away from its fi rst national title. As Goldstock reentered the arc with 10 seconds left in her SU career, her head dropped straight to the ground. The win meant that Treanor — then an assistant coach at Boston College — won her first national championship. She consoled Goldstock — someone she always considered “her rock.” It was something Treanor had done many times before. Goldstock struggled with balancing school and athletics as lacrosse was becoming a job, and less so the sport she loved. So Goldstock called Treanor almost every day, just like she did since high school. But Goldstock isn’t alone in that relationship with Syracuse’s new head coach. Current and former teammates, along with coaches and players, said her personality and high lacrosse IQ left an impact on them and will influence Syracuse lacrosse positively. Treanor cultivated her personality and learned the game in a creative and unique way after being surrounded by coaching in her youth. Treanor shares very similar qualities with her predecessor, Gary Gait, said Gabby Jaquith, a former SU teammate. Lisa Miller, who coached with Treanor at Harvard and was the first coach in Syracuse history, said Treanor reminds her of former SU men’s lacrosse coach Roy Simmons Jr. since they are both able to connect with players in a nonconfrontational way. Together, they make up important features for the person taking over a Syracuse program with national title aspirations. “Syracuse was taking a little bit longer than they should have. I’ll say that wholeheartedly,” Army head coach and former SU player Michelle Tumolo said. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to lead that program.” Treanor grew up around coaching since her father, Mark Treanor, coached basketball at various levels. After Gait was hired as head coach of Syracuse’s men’s team, Treanor saw an opportunity she could never pass up. “Syracuse is home to me,” Treanor said. “It was a no-brainer for me to go and try to take that opportunity and go for the interview.” After she was hired by SU in June, Treanor said she planned to use what she had learned with the focus of pushing creativity on the field from the team. Treanor will build on what Gait already established, while still using her own qualities to instill creativity and confidence in her players, former Syracuse assistant coach Regy Thorpe said. Even at a young age, Treanor thought cre-
atively about lacrosse. Treanor was drawn to soccer and basketball instead of lacrosse initially, and after eventually getting into lacrosse, she found ways to incorporate basketball into lacrosse. Mark said the terminology and some concepts in the two sports were similar, and the variety of sports Treanor played eased her transition to lacrosse. “The way I view lacrosse is through a basketball lens,” Treanor said. “Whether it be the way you play defense, or offense or your individual moves.” Treanor also used this to become one of SU’s all-time leading scorers by consistently finding different ways to score. Jaquith remembered a goal where Treanor shot the ball between her legs with her back facing the goal against Loyola. “She’s an innovator and a creator,” Jaquith said. “She loves to cross other sports into lacrosse.” Treanor’s creativity also inspired her to try new ways to practice and play. As an assistant at Harvard in 2017, Treanor let players be “looser” in practice, fellow assistant Carla Gigon Farkes said. Farkes said many of the players on the Crimson had a “type A” personality and were more used to a regimented system of play, something Treanor helped change. The Crimson’s top scorer that year, Marisa Romeo, said Treanor also taught her the power of visualization. In practice, Treanor had attackers close their eyes in attacking drills and visualize how they would score. In one game, Romeo remembered visualizing using a backhand shot to
score. When she got that chance in a game against Cornell, Romeo held the ball from behind the net and came around the left side. While barely turning to face the goal, Romeo scored a right-handed backhand shot to give the Crimson a 2-1 lead. Miller loved how Treanor was able to make different concepts easy to understand. “(Coaches) can kind of get carried away with X’s and O’s and pretending we know more than we do,” Miller said. “Her way of communicating made it simple for the kids.” Treanor’s ability to understand and easily explain every aspect of the game came from hours of watching film. Treanor was always the first player at each film session, and whether it was about the draw control or being down a player, Treanor was on top of it, Thorpe said. Former SU player Brenna Rainone said Treanor earned the respect of teammates by keeping everyone on the team involved and included. “She never was exclusive with people,” Rainone said. “She always was open to everyone’s opinions.” Treanor’s connections with her players are something Goldstock has always valued. Goldstock also knows from the conversations she’s had with current players that they will be grateful to have Treanor as the coach takes on her first head coaching job. “Every current player on that team grew up watching Kayla Treanor at Syracuse,” Goldstock said. “So having her come in and coach that team is having your biggest role to try to win a national championship.” henrywobrien@gmail.com @realhenryobrien
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FROM PLAYERS Inside the bond between Gary Gait and Kayla Treanor that led to the 2 taking over Syracuse’s lacrosse programs this season
By Anish Vasudevan asst. sports editor
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t Syracuse Crunch’s matchup against the Utica Comets, SU’s women’s and men’s lacrosse programs made the trip downtown, occupying sections 215 and 216 in the upper level. Before the game, men’s lacrosse head coach Gary Gait and women’s lacrosse head coach Kayla Treanor went on the ice. Gait dropped the ceremonial puck for the team captains as Treanor, who he once coached for four seasons, stood to his left. Thirteen years after Treanor and Gait first met, nine years after her arrival at Syracuse and eight months after Treanor’s Boston College team defeated Gait’s SU side in the national championship, the pair were recently appointed to lead the Orange’s storied programs. Both coaches played for Syracuse, but now, they’re one flight of stairs away from each other at the Roy Simmons Coaching Center, with Treanor occupying Gait’s old office. “I’ve moved my office from downstairs to upstairs.” Gait said. “She was very well prepared. She went out
(and) learned a lot in those four or five years she was away from Syracuse.” Gait first approached Treanor when she was in ninth grade at a lacrosse tournament. Treanor had told Gait that she wanted to be lacrosse coach since working as a water girl for the Niskayuna High School (New York) basketball teams that her dad coached. But Treanor was surprised that Gait — one of the best lacrosse players ever and a prominent head coach — wanted to meet her and learn about her dreams of being a lacrosse coach. “Anything he said I was just in awe of. It’s still the same thing today,” Treanor said of Gait. “I just can’t believe how lucky I am to have (him) in my life. To have him want me to come play for (the Orange) was awesome.” In 2013, Treanor enrolled at SU. Because Syracuse’s best offensive player, Michelle Tumolo, was carded in the last game of the previous season, Gait had Treanor start in Tumolo’s position at the left side of the attack — a position she had never played before — in the Orange’s opener, because Gait trusted Treanor. She wouldn’t switch back to the right side again while at SU. Gait’s coaching style created a “no pressure” environ-
ment on the team, Treanor said. Even though the Orang faced top opponents week in and week out, Gait allowed hi players’ creativity to flourish on the field, never punishin them for trying a new move, which Treanor did a lot. Over the next two seasons, the Orange lost to Mary land on Championship Weekend. They only dropped on Atlantic Coast Conference game in both of those seasons but SU went 3-4 in conference play in 2015. Still, Treanor remained as a mainstay in Syracuse attack, and the team’s practices didn’t change despite th lack of success. Gait still picked up his own lacrosse stic
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and joined the players on the field, former SU player Halle Majorana said. “Playing with him in practice was something else,” Majorana said. “I was always watching Gary — and even Kayla — trying to learn more moves.” Treanor also spent time with Gait individually after practices, learning specialized moves — which she would later teach to former SU player Nicole Levy in 2016 — that could help her against the ACC’s best defenders. Gait pushed Treanor to her limits, she said, the same thing she would later do coaching Tewaaraton Award
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winner Charlotte North in 2021 at Boston College. After her collegiate career, Treanor left Syracuse in search of an assistant coaching job. Gait had talked to then-Harvard, and former Syracuse, head coach Lisa Miller. By “luck,” Treanor said, a vacancy was there for her to join the Crimson. Eventually, Treanor landed at Boston College in the summer of 2017, helping the Eagles to three straight NCA A Championship appearances. In 2021, the Eagles won their only NCA A title, beating Gait’s Syracuse 16-10. A month later, Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach John Desko retired after 46 years with the program as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Gait was able to get his “dream job” in charge of his former college team, looking to use his coaching style to bring out creativity from the men’s side. “I look forward to the day when we can both raise the national championship,” Gait said about both Syracuse programs. “Hopefully that will be very soon.” A national search began for Gait’s replacement, but like the men’s program, SU stayed within its familial ties by hiring Treanor.
“What we’re trying to do is continue the legacy that Gait built, and we’re trying to win the national championship year in and year out,” Treanor said. In 2020, the pandemic halted both team’s NCAA title hopes. With the time at home, Gait set up Zoom calls with alumni dating back to the beginning of his tenure as head coach in 2007. The group discussed drills and strategies about the game, each adding to Gait’s presentations with their own experiences coaching programs across the country. In one of the clinics, Gait placed the camera in front of him and picked up an unstrung women’s lacrosse stick. He demonstrated how to string the stick from start to finish, his former players watching on their own computers. After the call ended, Gait strung sticks for everyone who attended and shipped them all over the country. One of the packages arrived at his successor’s home in Boston, one year before the change became official. “I didn’t know I was sending the stick to this year’s coach at Syracuse,” Gait said. “I feel really good handing the team off to Kayla. No better (than) to have a coach with championship experience to take over.” anish.sujeet@gmail.com @anish_vasu
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‘ON THE MAP’
The youth lacrosse league Owen Seebold’s dad founded aided his own rise to starting in Syracuse’s attack By Anish Vasudevan asst. sports editor
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outh lacrosse in “football country,” Texas, was virtually nonexistent when Owen Seebold was born. But at 3 years old, Seebold started attending practice with his dad, former Syracuse national champion Bob Seebold, who was coaching a Highland Park High School club team. But Bob didn’t want his son, or others interested in lacrosse, to only have the opportunity to practice their stick work as high schoolers. “We were either going to have to move or start lacrosse down here,” Bob said. So lacrosse took off in the Highland Park community on the north side of Dallas. Bob’s blueprint spread to other towns and metropolitan cities across the state, with Austin and Houston becoming youth lacrosse hubs despite the sport still being considered club status at the high school level. Simultaneously, Seebold’s skills evolved in his dad’s program, helping him become the Class of 2017’s seventh-best attackman, per Inside Lacrosse, and eventually, a captain in his last year at SU. It took several years for Bob’s vision to come into fruition. By the time Seebold was in first
grade, Bob had created six youth teams, and the league had the players for six more the next year. Now, the Highland Park program has roughly 300 kids on teams ranging from first graders to high schoolers, according to Rich Moses, who coached Seebold in middle school. “It just exploded down here — parents love it and kids love it,” Bob said. “Who doesn’t love running around hitting someone with a stick?” Lacrosse still had to compete with Highland Park’s more popular sports like football and basketball. Seebold started to ask his friends on the football team to try lacrosse, and Bob talked to kids and parents to spread the word. “My dad really inspired kids to pick up a stick and make it something they could build on athletically,” Seebold said. “Those were the best memories I had with lacrosse. It was just because I was with my dad and he was trying to build this thing.” After graduating from Syracuse, Bob played for a lacrosse club in Dallas. Two years after Highland Park’s program was up and running, one of Bob’s former club teammates, Johnny Marano, started a youth program while also coaching high school. The youth program allowed Marano and Bob to develop players who would eventually play under them in high school rather than teaching fundamentals
once they were already in ninth grade. Lacrosse was still in full swing in the months when there wasn’t fall youth football. It also grew more popular than Little League in Highland Park as kids “would rather have action or contact” instead of standing around on the baseball field, Bob said. But for players like Seebold who had played lacrosse since first grade, North Texas’ lacrosse competition at the time was still not “on par” with youth programs on the East Coast, Marano said. Marano, who had created a team in the Castle Hills neighborhood, also wanted his son to play stronger competition, inviting Seebold and a few of his teammates from Highland Park to compete with his team on a trip to Long Island when Seebold was in fourth grade. In the group’s first trip together, it recorded four straight wins. Seebold said he and the team used their athletic ability to keep up with the Long Island competition. “There was no one in Long Island better than him,” Marano said. Seebold and the team’s success led to the birth of C2C Lacrosse, a North Texas travel lacrosse program founded by Bob and Marano. The following year, C2C went to Hofstra University, where Seebold “lit the place on fire” in a win over Team Huntington Lacrosse from Long Island, Marano said.
With Seebold at the forefront, Highland Park didn’t drop a single North Texas championship game in sixth, seventh or eight grade. Moses said Seebold was “basically unstoppable,” with his stick skills refined from years of Highland Park youth lacrosse. Throughout high school, Seebold continued to play under Marano in the C2C program and with the Highland Park High School club team. In ninth grade, Seebold traveled to Baltimore with C2C for the program’s first college recruiting tournament. Seebold dominated again, and then-Syracuse assistant coach Lelan Rogers told Moses he “definitely wanted” Seebold at SU. Seebold said Syracuse “was always in the back of his mind,” as he had been decked out in his father’s old jersey since he was a kid, but that tournament solidified his spot at Bob’s alma mater. Seebold didn’t reach his current 6-foot-1 frame until he was a junior in high school. Still, the skills he refined through his dad’s youth lacrosse programs continued to benefit him after he grew. After youth lacrosse practices, Seebold went home and watched YouTube highlights of the Syracuse players he had plastered on his wall, like the Powell brothers and Kenny Nims. On weekends he watched those players see seebold page 14
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ROAD TO RECOVERY Emily Hawryschuk built her recovery from a torn ACL around research and conversation while embracing a new role
By Cole Bambini asst. copy editor
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mily Hawryschuk dodged into a double team in the team’s routine sevens drill during practice. She planned to go toward goal, but when stepping toward midfield, her right knee caved and buckled. Days later, team doctors confirmed Hawryschuk’s torn ACL, ending what was supposed to be her “Heisman year.” SU lost an All-American, its three-time scoring leader and Inside Lacrosse’s second-best collegiate lacrosse player less than a month into the 2021 season. Hawryschuk’s injury spoiled her planned fifth year after COVID-19 halted the season prior. She played one game, scoring four goals in a 18-6 win over Loyola Maryland. Without Hawryschuk in the lineup, the Orange turned to Emma Ward and Meaghan Tyrrell, but Syracuse eventually fell to Boston College in the national championship game. During her recovery period, Hawryschuk focused on research, conversation and coming back from the injury ahead of schedule. Now, Hawryschuk enters this season with a chance to break SU’s all-time goals record and bring the Orange their first national championship. “She went to Syracuse to try to win a national championship, so she’ll take advantage of every minute she gets on that field to try to accomplish that,” said Hawryschuk’s mother, Melissa. Hawryschuk said she never considered leaving Syracuse after the injury. Even in the days between the injury and the diagnosis, she prioritized her next steps with thenhead coach Gary Gait. “I knew that after all of this — at that point it was four and half years, almost five — I didn’t want everything to end on a practice field,” Hawryschuk said. While sidelined, Hawryschuk embraced a new coaching role, watching Gait operate as she learned how to contribute off the field. “The amount of learning that I took away from that was a ton,” Hawryschuk said. It started with Hawryschuk saying “good job” as players walked off, but with more mobility and confidence, she worked with the draw team, a position she started in from 2018-20. “Emily is an absolute genius,” said Kerrie Brown, Hawryschuk’s former travel team coach. “Having that whole year kind of swept up from under your feet, then utilizing it to make your intelligent game better, you’re only going to come back smarter.” Hawryschuk’s recovery began almost immediately after surgery on March 16 since doctors wanted her to apply pressure to her knee to get more acclimated, said her father, Nick. Hawryschuk worked her quadriceps, hamstring and kneecap by completing 20-minute routines
of flexes and stretches every few hours. She was a “rule-follower,” never slacking off during recovery to ensure she’d recover on-schedule, Nick and Melissa said. “She was following her protocol 110% to a tee,” Nick said. “If the doctor says that you should not be able to do X, Y or Z until June, then she’ll do it in June. Not (in) May, not (in) July, it’s going to happen in June.” Once Hawryschuk was able to jog, she went to Victor Senior High School with Nick, who recorded her jogging on the turf to make sure she planted her foot correctly and had the correct walking pattern. Once cleared to run, the pair returned and recorded videos to monitor Hawryschuk’s acceleration pace. The physical recovery was combined with a mental one, consisting of monotonous, lonely exercise routines. “It wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies,” Brown said. “There were some hard conversations about toughening up.” In one of those conversations with
Brown, Hawryschuk was focusing too much on comparisons to other players like Boston College’s Charlotte North, who won the Tewaaraton Award last year, Brown said. “I was like ‘OK, Cut the bullh*t,’” Brown said to Hawryschuk. “If you’re coming back, you need to stop comparing yourself to others. You need to stop comparing yourself to things in the past. ” To understand the injury better, Hawryschuk researched and spoke with trainers, physicians and athletes who had experienced knee injuries. “She tried to ground herself in knowledge to try to help her through that injury,” Melissa said. Outside Syracuse, Hawryschuk resourced Lizzie Colson, a former Maryland lacrosse star who tore her ACL in 2019. Hawryschuk and Colson had played together at a national team camp a few years back, so it was a “fullcircle” moment for the two to support each
other during their respective recoveries. Within the SU program, former attack Morgan Alexander — who’s had six knee surgeries during her career — gave Hawryschuk pointers. One time, Hawryschuk was in pain doing flexions, an exercise where you take a towel, pull your ankle and bend the knee. Alexander said she suggested a trick to reduce the pain, which worked, surprising Hawryschuk. Former SU defender Lila Nazarian, who has torn both ACLs, created “The Guide to Cheatcode 2.0” one night for Hawryschuk instead of doing homework. The small indexcard booklet highlighted milestones of the eight-month recovery with quotes, basically a “SparkNotes for the recovery,” Nazarian said. She left it in Hawryschuk’s game day locker. “I had little quotes of things that I knew resonated with her to kind of set her mindset for that month like you’re building a house, you’re building a foundation,” Nazarian said. see hawryschuk page 14
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FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS Brendan Curry follows AllAmerican father’s footsteps in fifth-season at Syracuse
By Alex Cirino
asst. sports editor
B
rendan Curry had given up on the Orange when they trailed Cornell by three goals with five and a half minutes left in the 2009 NCAA title game. The then-10-year-old stomped up the stairs into his bedroom and began to cry. Curry’s father Todd continued watching, and two minutes later, Syracuse scored. Curry heard Todd’s loud cheer and crept down the stairs just enough so that he could glance at the replay. But he stayed put even as the Orange quickly scored another goal. With four seconds left, Syracuse tied the game at nine, and Todd pulled his son off the staircase to watch the overtime period. It took Syracuse just two minutes to find the game-winner, and the once teary-eyed Curry bolted outside his home, running around the streets joyously screaming. Years later, the two cherish that moment as more than just a shared enjoyment of the championship — it also instilled an important value of belief in Curry that mimics the identity of Syracuse’s storied lacrosse program. “It’s not like I created the lesson,” Todd said. “The Syracuse lacrosse team gave me an illustration to say, ‘Look what just happened. You just got to believe.’” Todd, a three-time All-American at Syracuse from 1984-87, holds SU lacrosse values close to him and has passed them onto Curry, he said. Now entering his fifth season at Syracuse and his third straight as captain — the program’s second three-time captain — Curry is on track to follow in his father’s footsteps, having already been named an All-American twice. But in his final season, Curry wants to achieve something his father couldn’t: hoist a national championship for the Orange, just like he saw in 2009. Curry was 5 years old when he first truly experienced Syracuse lacrosse. He met Roy Simmons III, the current Director of Operations and Todd’s teammate in the late 80s, at the Curry house in Lutherville, Maryland. Simmons pulled Curry aside and handed him a Syracuse pin before bringing him into Todd’s home office, telling the young Curry about the importance of SU lacrosse’s family legacy. “You’re a first-born son. It’s meant for you to come to Syracuse,” Simmons said to Curry, who, during his junior year of high school, decided on Syracuse after initially committing to University of Pennsylvania. It was around the time that Curry met Simmons that he also began playing lacrosse. Todd taught him the basic fundamentals, and they played catch in their backyard and drew up their own unique plays. Curry always came back to his father for more backyard practice sessions, always wanting to learn more from his father about the sport. Todd later became Curry’s first lacrosse
coach on a recreational team. One of the first skills Todd taught the team was recovering ground balls. Once his players were in a ground ball huddle, Todd instructed the group of 5- and 6-year-olds to pick the ball up and bring it to their face mask, securing it tightly to successfully navigate the scrum. Curry applied his father’s instruction, but he took it too literally. When he picked the ball up in crowds, he pinned it directly against his mask so the ball had no way to fall out before he ran the entire field for a goal, which is illegal in lacrosse. “He’s a listener and he’s an implementer,” Todd said. “If you teach him something, he’ll do it.” Curry’s friends always joke that his game is a version of Todd’s. But this makes perfect sense, Curry said, since Todd taught him almost everything he knows about lacrosse. At Syracuse, Curry relies on his powerful shot and speed, the same strengths Todd used as a former professional, said Curry’s shooting coach Torre Kasemeyer Kasemeyer has worked with Curry since his freshman season at Calvert Hall College High School (Md.), but he also played with Todd during his last year on Baltimore’s
Mount Washington Lacrosse Club. According to Kasemeyer, Todd was a low to high step-down shooter. Curry’s shooting game depends on the dodge, Kasemeyer said, since his shot is not as powerful as Todd’s. Curry had a short sidearm shooting stroke that Kasemeyer immediately tried to make more overhand, similar to Todd’s. So the two agreed on a hybrid shooting motion that combined what Kasemeyer was trying to implement with what Curry had already established. Still, speed is how the Currys have made a name for themselves. Curry is now one of the fastest players in college lacrosse, Kasemeyer said, especially in an era where players have a noticeable size advantage compared to when Todd played, leading Kasemeyer to believe that Curry is the quicker of the two. Curry’s speed took over his game while he was a senior at Calvert Hall when head coach Bryan Kelly moved him from the attack to the midfield, his mother Erin said. Kelly said he focused on teaching Curry proper field acumen, tempo and awareness which shaped Curry into one of the best midfielders he’s ever coached. “When we needed a goal, we went to Brendan,” Kelly said.
Curry has known the Kellys since he began playing youth sports. Kelly and Todd briefly played against each other, and they also took turns coaching various youth sports teams that Curry and Kelly’s son, Jacob Kelly, played for. Just like the Currys, Jacob played at his father’s alma mater — North Carolina. The two played on almost every lacrosse team together throughout their childhood, one being the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) lacrosse club. FCA combines teaching lacrosse along with faith to its athletes. It’s where Jacob said he and Curry simultaneously developed their relationships with Christianity, learning through Bible readings at the club’s huddles. It’s an interest that was passed down from both their fathers. “He’s a man of faith, just like his dad and my dad,” Jacob said. “(Curry) prides himself on that, too.” Like his father, Curry has continued to blend faith and lacrosse while at Syracuse. In his junior season, he started a team-wide Bible study and plans to continue that in 2022, his final chance at a national championship with SU. see curry page 14
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‘REAL DEAL’
Emma Tyrrell once played second fiddle to her older sister. Now, she is poised to become one of the country’s top players. By Adam McCaffery staff writer
S
ierra Cockerille and two Virginia players scrambled to get their sticks on a loose ball, which flew into the air. Amid the scrum, Emma Tyrrell sprinted from the midfield line and snatched the ball, raising her stick with her left hand. She strengthened her grip by grabbing the stick with her right hand and she shot the ball from close range without hesitation. The ball flew past the Virginia goalkeeper, and Tyrrell threw her stick down to the ground emphatically. Her goal helped Syracuse come back from a four-goal deficit and earn a 15-12 win against the seventh-ranked Cavaliers. At the time, Tyrrell occasionally scored goals, since as a midfielder, her role was to control the draw and distribute. But after Megan Carney tore her ACL four games later, Gary Gait asked Tyrrell to make her first start of the season at attack. She finished the 2021 season as Syracuse’s fourth-highest goal scorer and was instrumental in leading SU to the NCAA title game against Boston College. Before she became a fixture in the Orange’s offense, Tyrrell took a “different path” to develop her skills, her high school coach Al Berto-
lone said. With her older sister Meaghan Tyrrell around to complement her game, she has become a versatile player for the team all over the field. In her hometown of Mount Sinai, New York, lacrosse’s prominence influenced Tyrrell to first pick up the game in third grade, she said. By the time she was a freshman in high school, Tyrrell earned a spot on Mount Sinai’s varsity team. Bertolone said Tyrrell was known for her scrappy play but a lot of the attention went to Meaghan, who was named an All-American and Long Island Player of the Year. Still, Tyrrell had her moments when she stood out on her own, aiding the team wherever it needed on the field. As a freshman, she primarily played draw control and gave her team a boost coming off the bench, though she would be taken out shortly after, Bertolone said. At the Suffolk County championship game against Bayport-Blue Point High School, Mount Sinai needed defensive help against Kerrigan Miller — one of the best recruits in the country — and Tyrrell solely focused on guarding Miller. “I don’t know if (Miller) scored a goal honestly,” Peter Van Middelem, who coached both Tyrrell and Meaghan as a youth and travel coach, said. Tyrrell continued playing defensive mid-
field throughout high school, but both Bertolone and Van Middelem said that Tyrrell had strong stick work. Both said Tyrrell was more skilled in stick work when comparing her and her sister during practices. Like when she matched up against Miller in her freshman year, Tyrrell faced current Notre Dame midfielder Kasey Choma in her senior season at Mount Sinai. With then-Syracuse women’s head coach Gary Gait in attendance, Tyrrell held Choma to a low-scoring game, outscoring Choma head-to-head, Van Middelem said. After a successful high school career, Tyrrell reunited with her sister, who already amassed over 50 points in her freshman season at Syracuse. Having someone like Meaghan on campus helped Tyrrell adjust, but Tyrrell said Meaghan let her figure things out on her own as a defensive presence and draw control specialist for SU. The sisters’ first season together was cut short due to the pandemic and Tyrrell only got to play in five games, scoring two goals and earning two assists. But in her sophomore year she quickly broke out as a player that was the “real deal,” former teammates said. Vanessa Costantino, who played midfield with Tyrrell, said Tyrrell was all over the place
against then-No. 4 Loyola. She forced two turnovers and scored twice, including a goal on a behind-the-back shot. “She’s fancy but not flashy, and she just works so hard,” Costantino said. “She just did so much of the grunt work that when she threw in one of those trick shots, you got really excited for it.” The sisters were always calm and collected on the field, using different styles of play which allowed their games to complement one another, multiple people said. Tyrrell has an off-ball game and dodges from the top or draw slot, distributing the ball around that area. She uses her speed and angles to get by players while Meaghan plays similar to a traditional attack and relies on her shiftiness with the ball in her stick. Still, while teams focus on stopping Meaghan in most games, Tyrrell is able to make herself open for Meaghan to find her. “Any time she has the ball in her stick, I’m very confident in what she’s going to do,” Tyrrell said. “It’s going to be the right decision for a lot of plays that are made.” Though Tyrrell remained a defensive midfielder for most of the 2021 season, Meaghan continued to find Tyrrell when she played see tyrrell page 14
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men’s lacrosse
Beat writers predict up-and-down season for Syracuse By The Daily Orange Sports Staff
Alex Cirino
New era, same mentality Record: 10-4 (3-3 Atlantic Coast) MVP: Tucker Dordevic X-Factor: Brendan Curry Gary Gait taking over as head coach proves one thing: That Syracuse is ready to be in the national championship mix once again. It hasn’t won since 2009, but now it is led by Gait, who won a title three times as a player in the late ’80s. Gait’s working with a Syracuse team that has maintained many of its strongest pieces from a season ago. Its midifeld is among the strongest in the country, led by co-captains Tucker Dordevic and Brendan Curry, two players on the All-American watch list. But with the additions of Dave Pietramala and TD Ierlan to the Orange’s coaching staff, Gait has made it obvious that he cares about immediate improvement on both sides But with Owen Hiltz’s injury temporarily affecting Syracuse’s offense and three-year
starter Drake Porter having graduated, the big question still remains whether or not Gait improves Syracuse the way he expects to.
Roshan Fernandez
On the same track Record: 8-6 (2-4 ACC) MVP: Tucker Dordevic X-Factor: Second midfield line The biggest questions about Syracuse’s season are regarding the impact of its superstar coaching staff, which features (arguably) the greatest player ever in Gait, the best defender ever in Pietramala and the best faceoff specialist in Ierlan. How much can the coaching staff affect this roster? Syracuse has talent, but will the staff be able to make noticeable improvements from last season’s first round NCAA Tournament exit? Gait’s hiring is obviously a revolutionary milestone for the program, but it doesn’t mean an automatic trip to Championship Weekend this season. I don’t think we’ll see immediate results this season, or possibly even next year.
It’ll take time for Gait and his staff to bring in their own recruits, but right now, he’s still working with John Desko’s players. SU lost key offensive weapons in Stephen Rehfuss and now Hiltz after an injury. Jamie Trimboli’s departure and Dordevic’s shift to attack leaves SU thin at midfield, and the second line will have to step up. The addition of Gait is massive for the program and we’ll see the results within a few seasons, but for now, I think this team is still on the same track to make a first-round NCAA Tournament exit again.
Anish Vasudevan
Defense, defense and more defense Record: 9-5 (2-4 ACC) MVP: Owen Seebold X-Factor: Defense The addition of Gait, who athletic director John Wildhack introduced as the “Michael Jordan” of lacrosse during his opening press conference, will make the most impact on the Orange’s offense. His laid-back coaching style
with the women’s program brought out creativity from some of the best women’s lacrosse players, and he’ll look to do that with players like Owen Seebold. Still, the addition of Pietramala as defensive coordinator will likely have a bigger impact on the Orange’s success. Their defense finished 54th nationally last year, allowing 14.08 goals per game while giving up 18 or more goals in five of its 13 games. Pietramala said after the team’s first intrasquad scrimmage that he was creating a system that suits the players on the Orange’s defense, and if Syracuse wants to keep games close it needs to win on the defensive side. But with Hiltz now missing significant time, Seebold’s role in Syracuse’s offense will increase significantly. Seebold was added to the Orange’s starting rotation halfway through the 2021 season and with Dordevic as his quarterback, he should emerge as one of SU’s top scorers in 2022. sports@dailyorange.com @DOsports
women’s lacrosse
Beat writers predict dominant season for Treanor, Syracuse By The Daily Orange Sports Staff
Cole Bambini
Treanor takeover Record: 15-2 (6-2 ACC) MVP: Meaghan Tyrrell X-Factor: Goalkeepers Despite multiple injuries, SU still managed to go 12-2 in the regular season and advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA Championships last year, losing both games to North Carolina and Boston College, respectively. Meaghan Tyrrell led the team with 112 points (68 goals and 44 assists) followed by Emma Ward with 73 (43 goals and 30 assists). But SU’s biggest question lies at the goalkeeper position. After losing Asa Goldstock, the Orange have four goalkeepers listed, three of which haven’t played a game for SU. Only graduate student Hannah Van Middelem has seen action for the Orange. After adding transfers Kimber Hower (UNC) and Delaney Sweitzer (USC) over the offseason, whoever Kayla Treanor determines as the No. 1 goalkeeper will be a crucial factor in SU’s success. from page 10
seebold on television, including his current coach Gary Gait, who was playing professionally at the time. After school Seebold immediately headed to from page 11
hawryschuk One of the quotes Nazarian included was, “In the midst of an ordinary training day, I try to remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary,” from Olympic marathon runner Shalane Flanagan. Sometimes, Nazarian stopped by the training room to be with Hawryschuk, with the two not necessarily speaking. For Nazarian, it was from page 12
curry
“It’s been my lifelong dream to win a national championship here,” Curry said. from page 13
tyrrell starting attack for SU against Boston College on April 24. Tyrrell scored the fourth goal of
Though SU has the second-toughest schedule in 2022, per Lacrosse Reference, Syracuse will likely go undefeated in nonconference play if it defeats Stony Brook and Northwestern. SU will potentially lose ACC games in the rematches against North Carolina (April 9) and Boston College (April 22), but for the rest of ACC play, SU hasn’t lost against any other conference opponent since 2018. If Syracuse stays healthy, Treanor can take her team deep in the postseason and to the championship game, a place she’s quite familiar with.
Adam McCaffery
Clean slate Record: 13-4 (5-3 ACC) MVP: Megan Carney X-Factor: The freshmen Syracuse won all but two regular season games last season and were national runners-up. But that was in a well-established system under Gary Gait, meaning it might take time for Treanor to reach the full potential of her squad this season. Still, Treanor has an experienced and talented group returning, as seven players were named
to Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason All-America Team, including attack Megan Carney, who had 69 points despite only playing in 13 games before tearing her ACL. If Carney can produce like last season immediately coming off the injury, the team will be in much better shape early on. The core goal-scorers and playmakers are returning for this season, which will help down the road, but the Orange also saw 24 players from last year’s roster depart. Syracuse needs multiple freshmen to step up if they want to be successful. Last season it was Ward, but with the announcement of her injury, the pressure is on whomever fills her shoes.
Henry O’Brien
More of the same? Record: 15-2 (6-2 ACC) MVP: Meaghan Tyrrell X-Factor: Emily Hawryschuk and Megan Carney’s return Injuries continue to be a factor for Syracuse even before the season has started. It almost feels like if one player returns from an injury, another player gets hurt. Last week, the Orange
lost Ward for the entire season due to a lower leg injury. Still, SU is loaded with attack depth. Both Emily Hawryschuk and Carney are returning from ACL tears. Before her tear in April, Carney had the most goals for the Orange. Meanwhile, Hawryschuk was SU’s yearly leader in points the previous three seasons. If Hawryschuk and Carney return to their pre-injury forms, then there will be very few teams in the NCAA that can stop the Orange’s attack. But two teams that could prevent SU from winning the national championship both play in the ACC. In two losses against North Carolina last year, Syracuse was held to a combined 10 goals. They were two of the only three games of the season that the Orange didn’t score in double digits. Against eventual champions Boston College, SU’s offense stalled in the biggest game of the year. Both of the topranked teams are returning their top scorers as well, meaning Syracuse will still have stiff competition in the way of getting its first national championship. sports@dailyorange.com @DOsports
his backyard to practice shooting and dodging with his lacrosse net. He tried to emulate the moves from the players he watched toward his own game, and would try those moves against his teammates once he went with Bob to the field. For some time, the Seebolds had one of
the Highland Park area’s only houses with a goal in their backyard. But as Bob’s vision embraced the community, Moses said goals started to appear in “hundreds” of homes throughout the town that has less than 10,000 residents.
“Bob was one of the architects of youth lacrosse in Texas,” Moses said. “Kudos to the Seebold family, and to Owen, for getting Texas lacrosse on the map.”
about alleviating the loneliness of the training room as Hawryschuk did her exercise reps. In addition to Hawryschuk, Vanessa Costantino and Megan Carney both tore their ACLs last season. Hawryschuk became a resource for others, especially Costantino. She shared her experience with high school and college-aged girls who had also gone through the injury. “We spent so many hours together in the training room,” Costantino said. “We knew when to push each other and when to kind
of back off and just be someone to listen to, someone to just vent to.” Costantino admired Hawryschuk’s mentality toward recovery and how she never cried during physical therapy sessions. And then, on Sept. 10, Hawryschuk’s surgeon cleared her for a full-return, roughly six months after the surgery, achieving her goal of being ahead of schedule. This season is likely Hawryschuk’s last shot of winning a national championship. With the
injury, recovery and the Tournament losses now behind her and the Orange, Syracuse provides new head coach Kayla Treanor with one of its best-ever teams — with an attack unit returning Hawryschuk at its forefront. “She did it physically on the field, mentally on the sideline, and now you get both back on the field,” Brown said. “For Kayla (Treanor), it’s almost like a dream player.”
“Just (getting) the opportunity to go out on the right note. (It) couldn’t end like last year.” Todd told Curry about his storied lacrosse career and how passionate he was about working on his game. Curry spent his entire childhood
listening to his father’s advice about lacrosse, and he knew he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps. “I always wanted to be like him and be just as good as him,” Curry said. “Him talking to me and being my role model growing up is kind
of the reason why our games are similar and (why) I grew up with a passion for lacrosse, and more importantly, for Syracuse lacrosse.”
the game when her sister drew in defenders and found a cutting Tyrrell in stride for the shot. By the end of the game, Tyrrell had tacked on five more goals for a double hat trick, propelling Syracuse to a 16-7 win. Tyrrell also
contributed to the defensive end of the field with one ground ball, while tying a team-high with four draw controls. “Just like for us, when she stood out with the scrappiness and the draw control, she
stood out to Gary with her offense, with her stick work,” Bertolone said. “The kid made the most of her opportunity and she did some great things.”
anish.sujeet@gmail.com @anish_vasu
cabambin@syr.edu @ColeBambini
cirinoalex19@gmail.com @alexcirino19
adamj40302@gmail.com
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