The last time Syracuse sophomore Kayla Treanor took the field against North Carolina, she torched the Tar Heels for seven goals and two assists as a member of Team USA at the Champion’s Challenge on Jan. 26.

But on Saturday, with the nation’s No. 1 ranking potentially on the line, she gave an encore performance that was equally impressive.

Treanor equaled her output from January with seven goals to help the No. 3 Orange (13-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) pull away from No. 1 UNC (12-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) for a 12-9 victory in front of a record home crowd of 2,142 fans at the Carrier Dome. Treanor’s seven scores set a new career high and were the most by an Orange player in any game this season.

“She’s probably the only player in the country that’s scored seven goals on that team twice,” Orange head coach Gary Gait said. “She stepped up today. She has incredible potential and just played outstanding.”

Treanor scored the first goal for either side 5:56 into the first half after blowing right past defender Courtney Waite to the right of the cage. Four minutes later, she did the same thing to give SU a 2-1 lead.

UNC head coach Jenny Levy then gave Stephanie Lobb the task of stopping Treanor, but the redshirt freshman fared no better. Treanor added two more tallies during the final seven minutes to help the Orange build a 6-3 halftime lead.

Although Treanor seemingly did whatever she wanted around the goal, she credited her teammates for putting her in those opportune positions.

“With the support I had around me, Alyssa Murray fed me the ball really well,” Treanor said, “just staying focused on my game instead of the defenders was the objective.”

But as the second half began, the Tar Heels mounted a charge and scored three unanswered goals to cut their deficit to one. Another three-goal spurt later in the period tied the score at nine with 12:27 remaining.

Rather than panic, though, the Orange offense dug deep for one final charge.

“The attack buckled down,” midfielder Amy Cross said. “When we did get the ball, we were able to really finish on our shots, posses the ball and value it more than we did in the past.”

No one finished better than Treanor, who gave Syracuse the lead once again with 9:01 remaining. After Cross scored her second goal moments later, Treanor was later able to bookend the game with her seventh and final strike of the afternoon.

The Tar Heels’ last real scoring opportunity came with 3:20 remaining, but Taylor George’s free position shot bounced off the crossbar and SU was able to cruise to the finish.

Treanor’s seven goals tied for the second-highest mark in school history, behind only Murray’s eight goals against Boston College on February 21, 2012.

Levy, UNC’s coach, had nothing but high praise for the sophomore and the chemistry she has built with the rest of the Orange. She said the Tar Heels had a couple of options planned to try and stop her, but none worked.

“We play everybody in the country almost, the top teams, and she’s certainly the best we’ve played this season,” Levy said. “You have to be careful because if you hone in too much on her, then she ends up having six assists.”

With the victory, the Orange will likely vault to the top of the polls this week. Treanor said that extra incentive was key to her big day and the team’s performance against one of the nation’s best squads.

“I think everyone can say they felt it today,” Treanor said. “We’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, the defending national champions, so there was just that extra incentive to get it done today.”

Published on April 12, 2014 at 7:46 pm

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu