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For many programs, making it to Championship Weekend is a glaring success. Since 2022, only seven different teams have filled the last 12 spots in the Final Four. In the past two seasons, three programs qualified for both. Two of those schools — Northwestern and Boston College — have won an NCAA Championship in one of those trips.

One is yet to make it past the semifinals.

That team is Syracuse. In its first three years under head coach Kayla Treanor, SU’s .765 win percentage puts it in the upper-echelon of teams nationally. Two trips to the Final Four boosted its resume, and a 21-9 win over UAlbany in its 2025 season opener revealed it’s likely primed for another prosperous year.

But after falling short in the same spot to the same team in two consecutive years, a Final Four appearance will no longer suffice. In year four of the Treanor era, the Orange are in a championship-or-bust situation. Anything short of the National Championship would be another bitter disappointment, reinforcing the program’s continued theme of falling at the doorstep of greatness.

So far this season, that sentiment seems to be shared throughout the team. In preseason media availability, just two days before SU downed the Great Danes, star attacker Olivia Adamson revealed Treanor’s message to the group.

While a Final Four appearance is a monumental achievement, it can no longer be the end goal. Making the Final Four is an opportunity to win the National Championship. Anything less is a lost opportunity.

Adamson said the only way to work toward that is by getting 1% better every day. It’s a simple mantra often repeated in sports. But how can a scientist mix the same chemicals and expect a different concoction? This year, with fresh recruits and budding stars, Treanor’s used a different formula.

The Orange lost two-thirds of their starting lineup from a season ago. Due to the extended year of eligibility for COVID-19, Syracuse graduated two full classes last season. While multiple players now play professionally, some transferred out and others are coaches, which allowed for a program refresh.

SU currently rosters 10 freshmen. Lexi Reber and Mileena Cotter cracked the starting lineup against UAlbany, while Cotter, Caroline Trinkaus and Molly Guzik combined for nine points. One of the Orange’s biggest game-changers is midfielder Alexa Vogelman, who missed her entire freshman year with a torn ACL.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Director

With new pieces, Syracuse quickly established a new identity. A fast-paced transition domination with speedy midfielders like Vogelman allowed the Orange to cruise past UAlbany. It’s a style Treanor said they wanted to play. Adamson sees it as possibly the key to unlocking SU’s next level.

“I think this is one of the most athletic teams I’ve ever been on,” Adamson said. “The coaches have done a really great job of just pushing us really hard the entire preseason. That’s been that next step that we need to get to a National Championship.”

Even with a fresh pedigree of talent, Syracuse swiftly meshed against the Great Danes. Powered by veteran stars Adamson and Emma Ward, the Orange dominated, opening with a 6-0 run and adding a 10-0 stretch in 21 minutes between the second and third quarters. The 12-goal win was the Orange’s 19th by double-digits since Treanor took over.

While Syracuse will likely continue to beat up poor competition, it’s the daunting schedule Treanor creates each year that she hopes will prepare the Orange for May.

SU faced nine ranked teams in the 2024 regular season, going 5-4. It began the year with a gauntlet playing three top-20 teams. The experience quickly shined through when the Orange trailed Notre Dame in their fourth game. In the season opener against then-No. 1 Northwestern, a comeback effort fell short. When it was in a similar spot against the then-No. 2 Fighting Irish, Syracuse mounted a comeback.

Treanor credited the experience for that win and the schedule overall for success deep into the season.

“We definitely play the toughest schedule in the country and that is by design,” Treanor said in mid-March of last season. “Our ultimate goal is to win a National Championship, and I’m not sure how you do that if you’re not playing the best teams.”

The strategy, though, didn’t work in the end, as the Orange fell to BC in the Final Four despite its clear preparedness. After SU’s dominant win over UAlbany to start 2025, Adamson repeated Treanor’s previous ideas. She said Treanor “sets us up right,” allowing Syracuse to prove it belongs. This season, the Orange will play 10 teams who made the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and 11 in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top-20 Poll.

Tuesday, Treanor emphasized her confidence in her team drives the scheduling process, enabling new systems — such as a fast-paced style — to be tested against the best teams.

“It shows a lot of belief that I have in the team, and knowing that I think we can win,” Treanor said.

Emma Ward steps up to lead Syracuse’s attack in her fifth season with the Orange alongside Olivia Adamson after many graduations last season. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor

Also included in the schedule are bouts with teams ranked above Syracuse: BC, Northwestern and North Carolina. The experience of falling to the Eagles still sits with SU’s returners. Sophomore defender Kaci Benoit, who’s now in a more prominent role after the departure of three starters, said it was a great experience, but it makes her even hungrier for the next step.

The standard also appeals to newcomers. Reber said the Orange’s continued trips to the Final Four appealed to her when choosing her school. Now, it’s become an expectation.

The late-season shortcomings aren’t all on Treanor. In the 24 seasons prior to her taking the mantle, Syracuse lost in the Final Four five times and the National Championship three times. If anything, Treanor’s brought an added layer of consistency to the program’s deep postseason runs. But that only creates higher stakes as the years go on.

Despite the departures of leading scorers Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall, Northwestern clearly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon with Tewaaraton favorite Madison Taylor. BC returns much of its National Championship-winning group, with Shea Dolce still in net and Rachel Clark, McKenna Davis and Emma LoPinto leading its attack.

Even North Carolina, which had a down year last season, has exploded onto the scene in 2025 with Ashley and Chloe Humphrey leading it to a 2-0 start with a goal margin of 37-3.

Reaching the Final Four is always a great accomplishment that garners continued national prominence. But after becoming a massive hurdle for the Orange in recent years, they must flip the switch in 2025 to finally clear the barrier. If not, Syracuse might simply never get the job done, continuously crumbling on the biggest stages for the foreseeable future.

Aiden Stepansky is the Digital Managing Editor for The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at amstepan@syr.edu or on X @AidenStepansky.

Published on February 12, 2025 at 11:14 pm