Alyssa Murray scored a season-high 10 points as fourth-seeded Syracuse (17-3) opened the NCAA tournament with a 21-8 win over Dartmouth (11-8) on Sunday afternoon in front of 426 at SU Soccer Stadium.

The junior attack Murray finished with five goals and five assists, strengthening her case as a Tewaaraton Award finalist and propelling the Orange to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 5-seed Florida (18-2) on Saturday a 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The Gators defeated Denver 16-5 on Sunday.

“I guess that’s why she’s a Tewaaraton finalist,” SU head coach Gary Gait said of Murray in the postgame press conference. “In big games – playoff games – you need to step up and make a difference, and she did that today. And led our offense, (she’s) done a very good job as a leader out there and making sure we’re organized and executing our plays and that goes a long way as well.”

Freshman attack Kayla Treanor added five goals and two assists as SU cruised to a 13-goal victory against the Big Green, the widest margin of victory thus far in the NCAA tournament. The Orange also beat Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament last year, cruising to a 15-5 first-round victory.

SU and Dartmouth played a fast-paced, high-scoring first half.

Big Green attack Hana Bowers opened the scoring about three minutes in before Syracuse answered with two goals. Fifty-three seconds after Bowers’ goal, SU midfielder Erica Bodt knotted the score at 1-1. Senior Bridget Daley gave the Orange its first lead of the day moments later.

Dartmouth responded with three unanswered goals, turning the 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 advantage. Attack Sarah Byrne scored two goals to pull the Big Green in front. Jaclyn Leto extended the lead to 4-2 eight minutes into the game.

From there, Syracuse took control. The Orange then went on a scoring burst, burying seven straight goals over the next nine minutes. Treanor scored twice and recorded two assists. Murray scored her first two goals while Bodt, Brenna Rainone and Devon Collins chipped in a goal apiece. With 9:17 remaining in the half, the Orange led 9-4.

“Obviously, (I’m) very happy with the outcome of today’s game,” Gait said in the press conference. “I thought our team was patient. It wasn’t our best start… but I think we rebounded (and) refocused, started finishing our opportunities.”

Bowers scored her second goal of the game to end the SU run with a goal at 7:42, making the score 9-5, but Murray completed her hat trick at the 6:18 mark and scored again on an assist from Kelly Cross more than a minute later to make it 11-5.

In the final two minutes of the half, Gabby Starkey scored for the Big Green to make it 11-6 before Treanor answered with 18 seconds remaining in the half, and the Orange went into the break with a 12-6 lead.

Syracuse opened the second half on an 8-0 run to put the game away. It took Dartmouth nearly 20 minutes to find the back of the net in the second frame and by then, it was too late. The Orange had reached the 20-goal mark for the third time this season.

“… By the middle of the game (we) were creating many opportunities through our ride and through our defense,” Gait said in the press conference. “And (it) allowed us to get on a good run and really dominate the middle of the game. I think from top to bottom it was a good effort by everybody.”

The SU ride limited the Big Green to 3-of-7 clears and just five attempted shots in the second half, denying Dartmouth a chance to stage a comeback. Alyssa Costantino replaced Kelsey Richardson in the cage in the second half and made three saves while allowing just two goals.

The Orange now has a week to prepare for Florida, who defeated SU on March 2 in Miami by four goals.

“I’m pumped. I think we came out of the Florida game this year pretty disappointed but we all kind of like shrugged it off and said, ‘We’ll win it when it counts,’” Murray said in the press conference. “It’s not going to come easy and we’re going to have to work really hard this week because I know Florida is going to be doing the same thing, but we’re hungry.”

–Compiled by Phil D’Abbraccio and Josh Hyber

Published on May 12, 2013 at 6:59 pm