CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — With 1:30 frozen on the clock in double overtime, Syracuse poured onto the field and surrounded Kayla Treanor.

After Treanor’s shot hit the twine, she turned right, threw her arms up and jumped. The team circled on the right side of the net. Then the celebration moved to the sideline.

For the third time in four days, SU celebrated a redemption victory, beating No. 3-seeded Boston College and No. 2-seeded Duke — two teams that beat SU in the regular season — to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament final.

For the second time in four days, Treanor made the game-winning play.

But for the first time in four days, it earned more than just another game.

“All throughout the year, I had the opportunity to say we could beat anybody and we could lose to anybody,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “And you know what? This week was our week, and we beat ‘em all.”

Treanor’s goal — the 200th of her career — captured SU’s (14-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) first ACC championship in a 9-8 double-overtime win over top-seeded North Carolina (15-3, 6-1). The victory avenges a 13-7 loss to Maryland in last year’s conference championship, and a 15-8 loss to the Tar Heels in the regular season.

And the Orange’s best player helped carry the team while winning ACC tournament MVP. She was a feeder throughout each game and a scorer in the clutch, which SU’s been looking for all season.

“You give (Treanor) the opportunity, she’s going to get it done eventually. She’s proven that time and time again,” Gait said.

“… It was awesome.”

Each team sent a challenge Treanor‘s way in the tournament, and UNC’s was Courtney Waite. Like BC midfielder Tess Chandler and Duke defender Isabelle Montagne, Treanor had to beat Waite by feeding teammates.

SU isolated Treanor and Waite early against UNC, but Treanor managed only four shots. After the Orange scored three goals in the first 13 minutes, it didn’t score the rest of the half. UNC ripped off three goals in four minutes and tied the game. Treanor even uncorked a behind-the-back shot, but Tar Heels goalie Caylee Waters easily saved it.

“(Waite)’s marked all the top attackers in the country all year,” UNC head coach Jenny Levy said. “She’s shut most of them down.”

Treanor scored nearly a goal per game more in the regular season than in the tournament, and it was her tournament-record six assists that led SU through the field.

She hit cutting midfielder Erica Bodt with a pass as Bodt trailed attack Halle Majorana through the middle of the field, and the midfielder gave SU a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.

“I think we can use that to our advantage,” Treanor said about drawing double teams and face guards. “… It’s about our team getting good shots and good opportunities that helps our offense.”

In the title game, SU held an 8-5 second-half lead before the Tar Heels ran off three goals in four minutes to knot the score. But it only set up Treanor’s big finish, when she made the play SU struggled to find throughout regular season.

The Orange had lost four of its eight one-goal games in the regular-season. Against Boston College and Duke in the regular season, SU entered the final 10 minutes down a goal. In those final minutes, Treanor did not tally a shot, assist or even a turnover.

But in the second overtime against UNC, Waters said she saw Treanor go to her rocker move, where she takes a step back with her back to the defender to get the defender off balance.

Treanor used the separation to fire a rocket in the top corner and finish the Tar Heels. Soon after she was the last to be announced to the all-tournament team, Treanor hoisted the ACC championship trophy with three teammates and looked every bit like a player ready to lead SU to its first-ever national championship for a women’s program.

“That’s what makes great players great,” Levy said, lamenting her team’s own trouble finishing shots. “They perform in clutch situations.”

Published on April 26, 2015 at 4:01 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati