Sisterly Love Gets it Done for the Orange in Season Opener

This was touted as one of the best opening day matchups in the nation and did not disappoint.

The thrill and the agony of falling just short in the National Championship game was, as the players said, always used as motivation heading into this new 2022 season. First year Head Coach, Kaela Treanor, says her girls worked hard during the preseason, and it was evident if you saw the way they played Friday in a 12-9 win over #13 Stanford.

This was a back and forth affair early, and through about the first period and a half, Stanford was up two goals. They were pressing the Orange defense and Cardinal goalie, Kara Rahaim, was lights out.

Then, Meaghan Tyrrell happened.

She scored two goals in the span of two minutes to tie it up at 5-5. Three minutes later, she bagged her hat trick. Safe to say, she was just getting started.

She finished the night with SIX goals, only one off her career high. She was just having fun out there, but she knew they were going to come eventually, no matter the source

“Those three goals were big, but it was going to come from somewhere. No matter who it was, having those goals definitely helped to get our momentum up,” Tyrrell said.

Meaghan definitely wasn’t the only Tyrrell that had herself a day for the Orange. Early on in the third period, Emma tallied her second goal to give Syracuse the 7-6 lead. That chemistry helped everyone on that Orange offense look unstoppable, and Meaghan agrees.

“Being able to have her out on the field, I’m so honored to have her out there and play with her everyday,” Tyrrell said.

That offense was obviously red hot, but in the second half, so was the netminding. Kimber Hower came into the game at the start of the third period, and the North Carolina transfer was lights out. She pitched a shutout in the third period, and only allowed three in the fourth. Both goalies that played Friday night were new to the Carrier Dome, and coach Treanor wanted to give them both some action tonight.

“Our plan was to play both goalies," Treanor said. "We’re really proud of both their performances tonight.”

But the biggest stories on the day were Emily Hawryschuk scoring her first goal in 356 days (after missing all but one game last season due to injury) and Kayla Treanor getting her first win as Head Coach for her Alma Mater.

“I would say it felt really comfortable," Treanor said. "I’m really happy for the girls, I’m really happy they could get the win.”

As the players were in the post game huddle, chanting out “Kayla, Kayla, Kayla!”, one could say it was the perfect way to start off the new season.

The Orange look to go 2-0 when they host Binghamton on Sunday at 1 pm.