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Syracuse University (NY)

Syracuse University Athletics
 Manley Field House - 1301 E. Colvin St Syracuse, NY 13244
Division 1 New York Northeast
Private Large National competitor
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Kayla Treanor

Four-time All-American Kayla Treanor led the Syracuse women's lacrosse team to unprecedented success on the field and now she guides the program from the sidelines. Treanor was named the third head coach in program history on June 23, 2021.


She led Syracuse back to Championship Weekend in just her second season at the helm of the program in 2023. The Orange got off to the best start in program history, winning its first 15 games of the season. The 15-straight wins matched the longest winning streak in program history. Syracuse held down the No. 1 spot in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA poll for a program-best five consecutive weeks. Syracuse earned a share of the regular-season ACC title with an 8-1 league record. The Orange earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Johns Hopkins and James Madison to claim a spot in the national semifinal for the ninth time.


Treanor mentored two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist Meaghan Tyrrell, who became just the ninth Division I player to record 400 career points. She finished her career ranked sixth on the NCAA Division I all-time points list with 415 points. Tyrrell and the Orange led the nation in points (25.14) and assists (9.10) per game in 2023.


Treanor earned her first win as a head coach in Syracuse's 2022 season opener, a 12-9 victory against No. 13 Stanford. It was the first of eight wins against ranked teams for the Orange, which included a 13-9 victory at Princeton in the NCAA Tournament second round.


After starring for the Orange from 2013-16, Treanor started her coaching career at Harvard, where she served as an assistant for former Orange head coach Lisa Miller for one year. She joined the coaching staff at Boston College in 2017. In her four seasons with the Eagles, Boston College advanced to the championship game three times (2020 season cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic) and claimed the national championship in 2021. Under her tutelage, two Eagles, Sam Apuzzo and Charlotte North, earned the Tewaaraton Award as Boston College ranked among the top offenses in the nation.


Treanor led the Orange to four consecutive appearances at Championship Weekend from 2013-16 and a spot in the 2014 national championship game. She is the only player in program history to earn IWLCA first-team All-America honors in each of her four seasons. Treanor was a three-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award and Honda Award and earned the IWLCA Attacker of the Year Award in three consecutive seasons (2014-16). In addition, she was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team in each of her four seasons.


The Niskayuna, N.Y. native also earned recognition for her work in the classroom. In 2016, she earned the ACC Women's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year award and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.


Treanor ranks seventh on the NCAA and second on Syracuse's all-time scoring list (393 points). Treanor graduated as Syracuse's all-time leader in goals and currently ranks second (260) and is fourth in career assists (133). She set the single-season school record with 79 goals in 2014 and established the program mark for draw controls in a season (217) in 2016, which stood as the NCAA record until 2019.


In addition to her success at Syracuse, Treanor has excelled on the international stage for Team USA. She helped the U.S. take home gold at the 2017 and 2022 World Championships and was named to the All-World Team both years. Treanor amassed 43 points on 24 goals and 19 assists – all team highs – in the 2017 tournament, which included a record-setting 12-point performance against England in pool play. She recorded a team-best 34 (20 goals, 14 assists) points in the 2022 tournament. Treanor retired after the 2022 championship as U.S. Lacrosse's all-time leader in points (77) and goals (44).


Treanor also played professionally from 2017-21.

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Caitlin Defliese Watkins

Caitlin Defliese Watkins joined the Orange staff as an assistant coach in the fall of 2016. She came to Syracuse after spending the last five years as associate head coach at Stony Brook.


During her tenure, she mentored 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year Sarah Cooper, who earned IWLCA First Team All-America honors in 2021 and 2022. Cooper is one of four defenders who have earned IWLCA All-Northeast Region honors under the guidance of Defliese Watkins.


Syracuse held its opponents to 10 or less goals 13 times in 2023 and ranked 22nd in the nation in scoring defense (9.57). The Orange ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense in 2021 (9.95) and led the nation in shortened 2020 campaign (7.00).


Defliese Watkins served as Stony Brook’s defensive coordinator, leading one of the top defenses in the nation. In 2016, the Seawolves ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (6.1 gpg) and fourth in scoring margin (7.33). Goalkeeper Anna Tesoriero was second in the country with a 6.07 goals-against average. During her time at Stony Brook, Defliese mentored two All-Americans, two all-region honorees and seven all-conference selections.


A four-year letterwinner at Boston University, Defliese Watkins earned a spot on the All-America East Second Team in 2010 after being named to the conference’s All-Rookie Team in 2007 after recording 13 caused turnovers, 23 draw controls and 21 ground balls. Defliese earned her bachelor’s degree in health and rehabilitation from Boston University in 2010.

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