No. 5 Syracuse Falls to No. 12 Stony Brook After Ellie Masera Nets Game Winner in Overtime

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a thrilling back and forth matchup, the Seawolves pulled off the upset.

Although Maddy Baxter forced overtime with 10 seconds left, the Orange suffered its second overtime loss this season, as No. 12 Stony Brook defeated No. 5 Syracuse 13-12.

Ellie Masera scored the game-winning goal and for the second time in program history, the Seawolves beat the Orange.

Neither team led by more than two goals in this contest and although the Seawolves trailed by two with 7:23 left, Stony Brook head coach Joe Spallina believed his team would be resilient.

“We showed characteristics of a top team,” Spallina said. “We have a senior group, and when we have a senior group, it’s a player driven model that we have. We told them coming in, ‘They’re going to make plays, it’s not going to be perfect. You’ve got to be able to answer a punch with a punch.’”

Ellie Masera wins the draw for the Seawolves as she finishes with four goals and a game-high nine draw controls. Photos by Anthony Leon.

After Stony Brook killed off two early penalties, Masera struck first off the rebound after a save by Delaney Sweitzer on the free position shot. With Morgan Mitchell adding another goal off a cut, the Seawolves took the early 2-0 lead.

Syracuse would immediately respond, as Baxter won the ensuing draw and dished it to Emma Ward for her first goal of the match. 

Following Kailyn Hart’s shorthanded free position goal and Olivia Adamson’s quick score, Stony Brook was up 3-2 to end the first quarter.

The Orange tied the game in the second period, as Adamson netted her second goal of the game on the free position shot.

Emma Tyrrell and Olivia Adamson celebrate after Adamson nets a free position goal. Adamson ended with two goals and two assists.

Stony Brook would retake the lead with Masera, but only for a short time. On the following free position attempt for Syracuse, Ward passed the ball to Savannah Sweitzer for her first goal of the game. Seven of Syracuse’s 12 goals were assisted.

For the next 8:48 of play, neither team could score. After a Delaney Sweitzer save, the Seawolves missed three shots in a row and the Orange couldn’t take advantage. 

“It’s an unfortunate loss because I really don’t think we played to our potential tonight,” head coach Kayla Treanor said. “I feel like we gave them a lot of gifts in this game.”

Emma Ward feeds it to Savannah Sweitzer who scores on the free position attempt. Ward scored twice and dished out two assists for the game.

Going into halftime, Stony Brook led 5-4, but Syracuse would score three-straight goals to start the third quarter.

Emma Tyrrell tallied her first of three goals in the contest after a quiet first half. Meghan Rode gave the Orange its first lead on a power play where Syracuse was 0-5 up until that point. Savannah Sweitzer capped off the run with a behind-the-back goal to extend the Orange lead 7-5.

The Seawolves followed that up with a 3-0 run of its own with two goals from Hart and one from Jaden Hampel. Alex Finn assisted both of Hart’s goals in the third quarter and overall, nine of Stony Brook’s 13 goals were assisted.

“I was able to get open on the cut and having Alex Finn as a great feeder now,” Hart said. “Everyone was just helping out and really taking apart their defense.”

Alex Finn dished out five assists and scored one goal while Kailyn Hart tallied five goals and added one assist. Three of Finn’s five assists went to Hart.

Tied at 8-8 to begin the fourth, Hart and Finn connected once again to give Stony Brook the lead back. However, Syracuse would respond with three consecutive free position goals in 1:59.

With a chance to extend the Orange lead to three, Natalie Smith attempted a free position shot that was saved by Emily Manning. Tyrrell picked up the ball and Baxter got an opportunity, but she was also stoned by Manning. Manning made four saves on the night, while Delaney Sweitzer made nine saves.

Facing a two goal deficit, Stony Brook was running out time. With 5:32 left, Finn fed Charlotte Verhulst for a score. Hart tallied a free position goal and after looking for a cutter from the X, Finn dished it off to Masera as the Seawolves led 12-11 with 1:08 remaining.

Katelyn Mashewske would win the ensuing draw and Tyrrell passed the ball to Baxter as she scored with 10 seconds left to force overtime.

While Baxter was Syracuse’s hero for the moment, Treanor believed the Orange needed to do a better job of netting open shots.

“We shouldn’t have to make a miraculous play with 10 seconds left,” Treanor said. “We’ve got to be able to finish when we’re open.”

The Orange had trouble consistently scoring against Stony Brook’s zone defense. Avery Hines was confident in her team’s ability to get the win.

“I practiced against better girls every single day,” Hines said. “Today, I came in with a lot of confidence knowing that we were going to perform. We practiced a lot; we prepared like we needed to and I think we all really showed up today.”

Avery Hines looks to clear against the Orange. Hines caused three turnovers and picked up three ground balls during the match.

To open the extra period, the draw control seemed to be initially won by the Orange. However, Masera took the ball away from Mashewske and the Seawolves controlled the first possession of overtime.

While running towards the goal, Baxter tripped Masera from behind to give Stony Brook a woman-up opportunity.

Syracuse killed the penalty off but the Seawolves still maintained control. With the shot clock winding down, Mitchell found Masera wrapping around the cage. While running to her right, Masera fell to one knee and slinged the shot into the bottom left corner of the cage. 

In a tightly-contested game, the Seawolves walked out of the JMA Wireless Dome with what coach Spallina called a “season-defining win.” 

This is the second overtime loss for the Orange this season, as the team lost to Maryland back on Feb. 17.

At 3-3, Syracuse will play Virginia Tech on the road in Blacksburg. The opening draw is set for 12 p.m.