Down 9-8, the final draw of the game could give Syracuse a chance to tie the game.

The draw was in good hands. Kailah Kempney, SU’s draw specialist, who has garnered praise from nearly every opposing coach the Orange has played, stepped up to take the draw.

And just as she has so many times this season, she won it. It popped high in the air and fell into her stick. Kempney gave Syracuse an opportunity to win the game.

“Kailah Kempney is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, draw person in the country,” attack Halle Majorana said. “She always comes up big for us.”

But the Orange offense could not quite reciprocate, losing the ensuing possession and allowing Loyola to run out the clock.

Draws helped No. 14 Loyola (15-4, 8-0 Patriot) both gain its lead and a No. 2 SU (14-7, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) rally that eventually fell short in the Orange’s 9-8 loss to the Greyhounds. After early-game struggles, Kempney, who was temporarily pulled for attack Kayla Treanor, ripped off six consecutive draw controls in the second half, each giving Syracuse chances to win the game.

“They still outdrew us in the game, but I think we did make it a factor, which is important against Syracuse,” Loyola head coach Jen Adams said.

In a 50-second span late in the first half, Loyola used two draw controls to help push itself ahead. Referees awarded the ball to midfielder Taryn VanThof because of a violation on Kempney.

Associate head coach Regy Thorpe yelled, “White ball, white ball,” but as soon as the call was made, Thorpe yelled, “No!” Play restarted, Loyola ran the field and midfielder Katrina Geiger caught a pass from attack Kara Burke inside the eight-meter arc, bouncing a shot into the net.

VanThof collected the next draw herself. Attack Hannah Schmitt caught a pass from Burke on the right side of the crease as she streaked down the right side and buried a shot. In the first half, Loyola managed to win three of the seven draw controls and four out of eight before Kempney was yanked for Treanor in the second half.

“We knew if we weren’t going to be able to come up with it to ourselves that we needed to get the ball out and make it a 50-50 on the circle,” Adams said.

The shot gave Loyola a 3-2 lead, a lead it never relinquished.

Gait pulled Kempney and replaced her with Treanor after Kempney lost the first draw of the second half. As Treanor walked up to the circle a fan yelled, “Win it Kay.” But after Geiger picked up the draw, a fan yelled “Oh sh*t.”

“We really complement each other well, we both do completely different things on the draw,” Kempney said. “So it’s like if I know something’s not working for me, I’d much rather have Kayla try it rather than me keep losing.”

During that 14-minute stretch of Treanor taking draws — she won three-of-five — Loyola upped its lead to 8-4 and Gait reinserted Kempney with 15:57 left in the game. From there SU didn’t lose another draw, and Kempney won five to herself. After each draw, she passed the ball to a teammate and switched her stick with assistant coach Katie Rowan.

But after the final draw, the Orange ran the field. The ball found attack Riley Donahue, who pegged the post, wasting the chance Kempney had just won for SU. Loyola spent the next 2:17 running the clock out.

“Getting that last draw is a big deal for our team, we really dig our cleats in for that last draw,” Kempney said. “… We were just trying to get that one last goal to tie us up.”

Published on May 2, 2015 at 6:30 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati