2021 NCAA WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 28, 2021

Gary Gait

Syracuse Orange

Media Conference

Syracuse 21, Northwestern 13

GARY GAIT: Just an outstanding performance by the entire team. I thought it really started on the defensive end, Asa Goldstock leading the way. That first half of defense was amazing, the best half I think we've played all year, and gave us the opportunity to get a run going and get up on these guys. That really built some confidence. We were thrilled with that defense leading the way, and our offense did what we had to do, and I think overall it was just a great team effort top to bottom, and we've got one more to go.

Q. What's it like to have this team in the final, considering you lose Hawryschuk, you lose Carney. The players you've lost, the stuff that's happened, and you still put up a season-high 21 goals and you're in the National Championship game.

GARY GAIT: Yeah, it's about the team, and that's the key. The seniors that came back, 11 players that came back were on a mission, and the mission was to get to this game. They've done -- they've accomplished it, and all the younger players have stepped up to make sure it's happened, and they do it for each other, and I think that's the amazing -- they're willing to step up and take the chances and make plays knowing that they have everybody behind them and the entire team is together as one unit. So it's been fun.

Q. I hate to flip the script on you so early, but as Meaghan said, she said, we celebrated for five minutes, now it's on to BC. Can you look forward to that matchup here against the Eagles now for the fourth time?

GARY GAIT: Yeah, you know, we knew it was a weird year. We've played them three times, and we're like, we could see them a fourth time, and sure enough, we will. We'll go back, tweak our scouting reports and rewatch the game today and come up with a game plan.

I think today, one of the biggest differences was coming out prepared for the 12-man ride that Northwestern put on us, so we've got to do some magic like that, come up with a game plan that's going to give us the best opportunity to win come Sunday.

Q. Northwestern came into this game averaging 19.7 fouls in a game, and today they ended with nearly 50. I mean, what was your team able to do to force a pretty disciplined team to commit so many fouls?

GARY GAIT: Well, I think when they got down, most teams do, they try and get the ball back, they got to press out, they got a foul. They did, they got a lot of turnovers, putting pressure on us, we made mistakes. We certainly didn't play perfect. But we got the job done, and it was a game of runs, and I think when you're up by five, six, seven, eight goals, you're going to get the other team to foul, and that's what happened.

We held on and finished the game strong, and I was pretty proud of the team today.

Q. They had an opportunity to cut the score to a two-goal game with about seven minutes left. Asa made a big save and then you guys go back and score three in a row. How big was that save in terms of shifting the momentum back in your favor?

GARY GAIT: It was huge. I missed an opportunity. I didn't call a time-out. I should have had a time-out. We turned the ball over. We were man up and they came down. We switched gears again and said, hey, look, we're not going to just try and stall this one out. We need to put the ball in the back of the net and attack, so we regrouped, and Asa makes a big save, we go down, we score, and we keep attacking. I think that was the key is to take advantage and not play keep-away. With the shot clock that error was gone. We haven't practiced stalling in a couple years. Once I was telling them to stall, I realized that we need to go back and just when they give us an opportunity let's take it and go to the goal and finish it.

Q. This will be the second time in three championships that a new champion is crowned, James Madison in 2018. You've been around the sport a long time. What does that say about the sport, that there's starting to be some new names being at the top?

GARY GAIT: Well, I think first of all, I think the ACC Conference just truly dominated this year by playing each other a couple extra games and playing outside opponents. I think it prepared us better than any other conference, and I think we saw that with five of the top eight teams being ACC and three of the four Final Four teams being ACC.

I think our conference really prepared us well for this. You know, it's nice that there is going to be a new champion. It's been a weird year. Everybody has had different experiences, unlike most years where you pretty much have the same experience. Some are tougher than others, and I think we played the toughest schedule in the country, and I always preach that you've got to learn to win against the best to have a shot at the end of the year. So here we are.

Q. Your offense put 21 goals up on what's the best collegiate lacrosse defense that we've seen in a while. Was it something that you saw from Northwestern that you could capitalize on, or was it your team having the mindset that we can score on anybody?

GARY GAIT: Well, no. I think that we did get to play these guys last year. They were averaging -- when the season was cut off, I think they were averaging 20, 21 goals a game, and we went in and played them, and we beat them at home last year in one of the last games of the year.

I think it gave us confidence that we could score on these guys. I had the same question about Florida. Florida played -- they had the No. 1 defense in the country and the No. 1 offense. What it really came down to is the ACC has the best teams, plays the toughest schedule, so you're not going to have the best defense because you're going against the best offenses.

The Big Ten by only playing themselves I think allowed a dominant Northwestern to really have their best year on defense, but they just didn't get tested from the outside. I think that was our advantage, that we've had this year the experience of playing the best teams in the country week in and week out. It really helped us.

Q. You were talking about the ACC. Do you feel like the ACC is getting more recognized for lacrosse because of the ACC Network? Do you feel like the ACC Network is working to get more exposure to women's lacrosse?

GARY GAIT: Yeah, I think so. Both on the men's and women's side of the game, the ACC dominated.

You know, we all work hard, but for the game of lacrosse as coaches we go out there and we compete against each other and all these other conferences for the best kids. I think we also have some of the best coaches in the country from team to team.

The ACC is a great home and a great conference to be a part of, so we're happy about it.

Q. Are you wearing the same suit on Sunday or are we going to drop it off at the cleaners or get another one?

GARY GAIT: I don't think I've ever worn the same outfit two times in a row, so I don't think that should change, so we'll come up with a new one.

Q. What went into stopping Scane and Gilbert and how did you specifically plan to stop them heading into today?

GARY GAIT: Well, Coach Defliese. Izzy had seven points, but normally she has seven goals and we held her to four. She's a tremendous player and amazing, but our defense was dialed in, and it was a team effort. It wasn't a shutoff, it wasn't a face card, it was just great team defense, and that's what we pride ourselves on. Coach Defliese does an amazing job of developing lacrosse IQ on our defensive end so these kids understand what they're doing. I think on the other end, the Tyrrell sisters, or the House of Tyrrell as they call them now, have been outstanding. I don't think there's ever been two sisters that have put up the points they have in this playoff run per game. We played three games, and the two of them, I don't remember any sisters that have ever done it. It's certainly something fun to follow, and I look forward to seeing what they can do next.

Q. Meaghan Tyrrell has had five goals in every tournament game this year. How did she make an impact today, especially even though you guys had some new younger stars and some freshmen like Jenny Markey and others making an impact, how did Meaghan Tyrrell find success against Northwestern's defense?

GARY GAIT: Well, five and three. She got three of those on eight meters. She shot very well. She found the open players when she needed to, and she made big plays. That's what we need from her, and like I said, her and her sister and Emma Ward just have been spectacular, and at the end to have Emily Ehle come in and bury a couple at the end was big for her, building her confidence. But those three attackers are three of the best in the country, and I know -- I thought Meg Tyrrell might have a shot at a Tewaaraton finalist. Unfortunately she didn't get picked, but she'll take a National Championship over any Tewaaraton award any day.

Q. Going off what you said about holding Izzy to four goals, you're going to face Charlotte North on Sunday who has some pretty similar stats. What can you take away from your defense's ability to shut down Izzy today into Sunday's game?

GARY GAIT: Well, the good thing is we played Charlotte three times, so we've tried different defenses. We have one really successful game against her, and we'll use multiple defenses and face cards and no face cards because she is a super dynamic player. Much like Izzy, we've got to not give her open, easy shots. We've got to really take away those good-quality shots and try and make her feed her.