Women's lacrosse checks Syracuse, down the Orange for first time in program history • The Louisville Cardinal

By Dalton Ray–

In their season finale, women’s lacrosse edged No. 7 Syracuse in a defensive tout. The 9-8 win is the first ever win for U of L over SU. Kellie Young embraced her team in the huddle following the gleaming victory.

“I always want to come in and show them my excitement when something great happens. I’m their coach, I’m always wanting more and driving them. So I want to celebrate with them,” Young said. “I’ve always believed in them but I’m just so proud of them today.”

The Cardinals jumped up 2-0 with goals from senior Hannah Koloski and junior Jillian Balog. Louisville held the Orange scoreless for the opening 20 minutes, but allowed two goals in under a minute.

Sophomore Meghan Siverson created some distance for U of L by scoring a pair of goals. The Cards used their second free-position goal to make score 5-3 at the half.

Syracuse’s defense forced Louisville into long possessions, but Young said it’s just the way Syracuse plays.

“They run a zone. We felt like if we had more possession minutes, we would have a chance to win the game,” Young said. “We ran a few tweaks for the zone. I love when people play zone against us, it gives our kids structure in what we’re going to run.”

U of L started the second half just like the first with a pair of goals. The four-goal lead wouldn’t last long as Syracuse stayed composed.

The Orange scored three unanswered to make the score 7-6.

Sophomore McKayla Conti scored her 26th goal of the season to make the Cardinal lead three with seven minutes to play.

Syracuse showed why they’re one of the top teams in the nation, rallying back once again. With 2:12 on the clock, SU’s Natalie Wallon to cut the lead. Forty seconds later, Wallon did it again.

With momentum in flux, Siverson recorded a crucial draw control. In the final moments, Alex Rich forced a turnover and Koloski picked up the ground ball to secure the win.

Louisville heads to the ACC conference tournament next to face three-seed Virginia on April 27 at 8 p.m.