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In 2024, it’s the Emmas show. Emma Tyrrell and Emma Ward became the new same-name duo leading Syracuse’s attack when Meaghan Tyrrell and Megan Carney graduated following the 2023 season. Donned as “the Emmas,” the pair entered the 2024 season with 103 combined games played.

Despite their experience, Tyrrell and Ward were often cast in the shadow of Meaghan and Carney leading the way. But in 2024, it was their time to shine.

As the go-to pair for Syracuse in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals versus Louisville Wednesday, the duo combined for 10 points. Then two days later Friday against Virginia, with a trip to the conference championship on the line, the Emmas repeated their recent success. They combined for eight first-half points and nine overall as No. 1 seed Syracuse (14-4, 8-1 ACC) blew out No. 5 seed Virginia (14-4, 6-3 ACC) 19-4.

With the help of their stars, the Orange never trailed against the Cavaliers and led by a season-best 12 goals at halftime.

“They’re ready to go and they’re excited to be here,” SU head coach Kayla Treanor said of the duo postgame. “They both had great performances and we just want them to be able to do that for one more game in this tournament.”

From the start, Ward sat at her usual spot at X. The zone defense that Virginia showed early gave Ward more than enough space to operate freely. Just over a minute in, Ward cashed in by dishing to Olivia Adamson for the first score.

While Tyrrell didn’t directly assist the goal, she used her presence as a decoy to pull UVA defender Kate Demark from the middle, freeing a lane for Adamson. Thirteen seconds later, Tyrrell sped through the offensive zone before dishing to Adamson, who doubled the lead on a nifty behind-the-back shot.

Early on as Syracuse pulled away with an abundance of scoring, the Emmas had their fingerprints all over the game. To move the lead to three, Ward fed Tyrrell from X. Tyrrell blew by Virginia’s Maggie Bostain and fired past goalie Melissa Josephson. After dropping her stick, Tyrrell gave a quick point to Ward to show her appreciation.

“Playing with Emma she’s probably one of my favorite people to play with,” Tyrrell told ACC Network postgame. “She just always has such a great IQ and she knows what I’m thinking, I know what she’s thinking and it really just works together for us.”

Ward found the back of the net too on a free-position shot at the 10:05 mark in the first. Tyrrell was the first to greet her in celebration.

While Tyrrell is a year older than Ward, the two have faced similar challenging circumstances in their SU careers. In 2022, Ward was injured in the preseason and missed the entire year. In the same season, Tyrrell suffered a lower-body injury in April, missing the rest of the campaign.

As recent as this past season, both revealed on “The Meg Show” podcast that they went through surgeries to repair a torn meniscus, forcing them to miss the fall but allowing them to rehab together.

But the duo was ready to go when the season started in February. Both started every game for the Orange in 2024 and Tyrrell has posted a team-leading 57 goals and 75 points while Ward leads the team in assists with 30.

“We have good chemistry,” Ward told ACC Network Wednesday. “We’ve been playing together a long time so it’s just fun to be able to come and put on a good performance.”

The success continued in the bout versus Virginia. Following a 4-0 run, multiple Syracuse secondary scorers added to the lead to make it 8-0 Syracuse at the first break.

In the second quarter, Tyrrell took the ball from the restraining line down to behind the net and out the left side. She then dished to a wide-open Joely Caramelli who scored SU’s ninth of the day.

Tyrrell then added a pair of goals within 13 seconds, using her speed to slice through the Cavaliers’ defense and sharp accuracy to beat Josephson. Minutes later, Ward had a one-on-one matchup with Nicole Cruthirds at X and bodied her way inside for an easy finish.

Ward added another in the third quarter to give her a hat trick on the day. The duo finished with a combined six goals and three assists, the second game in a row combining for at least nine points.

With two games down in the conference tournament, all that’s left on the checklist in Charlotte is a victory in the title game. Though the Emmas face a daunting task in Boston College. Against the Eagles on April 18, Tyrrell was held to two points while Ward tallied three in an overtime loss. In their careers against BC, Tyrrell is averaging 1.75 points per game while Ward has 2.50.

The duo will be needed against Boston College’s defense, which allows less than eight goals per game. And with the Emmas having a combined 19 points across the last two games, they might just be ready to get past BC.

“This team is capable of a lot more than it showed now and I think that’s something that excites me and it gets me ready to win an ACC championship and national championship,” Tyrrell told ACC Network.

Published on April 27, 2024 at 11:46 am

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky