Ward, Tyrells lead Syracuse women's lacrosse team into Final Four

Syracuse is headed to the NCAA women’s lacrosse Final Four and it has three Long Islanders to thank for it. Babylon’s Emma Ward and Mount Sinai’s Emma and Meaghan Tyrrell combined for 13 goals in Syracuse’s 17-11 win over Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday in Syracuse.

Third-seeded Syracuse (16-3) will face No. 2 Northwestern Friday in Townson, Maryland.

Ward led all scorers with six goals and an assist. Emma Tyrrell had four goals and two assists and Meaghan Tyrrell had three goals and three assists.

Smithtown’s Shannon Kavanagh scored twice for Florida (18-3). Brianna Harris had two goals and three assists. Northport’s Danielle Pavinelli and Babylon’s Emily Heller also scored.

After entering halftime tied at 5, the Orange scored the first five goals of the second half. Emma Tyrrell’s second goal of the half gave Syracuse an 8-5 lead with 25:52 left in the second half. After Ward added an unassisted goal, Maddy Baxter found the back of the net to put Syracuse ahead 10-5 with 21:28 left.

Florida clawed back, cutting the Syracuse lead to 13-10 with 8:03 left, but Sam Swart and Ward scored to give the Orange a 15-10 lead with 3:49 left.