No. 13 Syracuse (0-3, 0-2 ACC) tied the game late, but No. 2 Stanford (4-0, 2-0 ACC) pulled away in the final minutes to take down the Orange, 8-6, at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on Friday evening.
 
Molly Guzik and Caroline Trinkaus led the offense with three points each, both scoring two goals and logging an assist. Daniella Guyette tallied nine saves and recorded a .529 save percentage, her second-consecutive game with a save percentage north of .500. The Orange were a perfect 17-for-17 on clear attempts and won the draw control battle, 10-6.
 
The Cardinal attack saw three players score two goals, with Ava Arceri, Lindsey Devir and Aliya Polisky scoring a pair. Polisky assisted on two goals as well, giving her a game-best four points.
 
Stanford struck first in the first quarter, but Guzik answered just a minute later with a free position goal to level the score. The Cardinal responded to make it 2-1, but Guzik netted her second of the game off an assist from Trinkaus to tie things at 2-2. Stanford then rattled off two goals down the stretch of the quarter to take a 4-2 lead.
 
The Orange clawed back in the second quarter, holding the Cardinal scoreless while burying two goals of their own. First, a player-up opportunity led to the Orange working the ball around the net before Guzik found Ashlee Volpe, who finished off the play for a goal. Bri Peters then scored her first goal of the year to even things at 4-4 with 10:39 left in the half. The offenses went quiet for after the two quick Syracuse goals, neither team scoring for the rest of the half.
 
Stanford wasted no time in the third, as Arceri found the back of the net less than a minute out of the break to put the Cardinal back ahead. The game stayed quiet for the next 10 minutes before Stanford struck again to push the lead to 6-4 with five minuts to go in the quarter.
 
Trinkaus got the Orange back within one early in the fourth quarter, converting on a player-up opportunity for her first goal of the game. She wasn’t done there — less than five minutes later, she took a pass from Mackenzie Rich and buried the equalizer to tie the game at 6-6 with just under 10 minutes to play.
 
Stanford had the final say, though, scoring the go-ahead goal with 6:21 remaining and adding another less than a minute later to put the game away, 8-6.
 
The Orange will return to the JMA Wireless Dome to take on No. 19 Loyola on Tuesday, February 24. The matchup with the Greyhounds is set for a 5 p.m. start and will air on ACC Network Extra. For tickets, visit cuse.com/feature/lacrosse-tickets

For more on the women’s lacrosse program, follow the team on X (@CuseWLAX) and Instagram (@CuseWLAX).