Two Syracuse Women's Lacrosse Athletes Named to Inside Lacrosse Top 50 College Players

Inside lacrosse came out with their list of the Top 50 Players in College Lacrosse for the upcoming season, and there are a few faces you might recognize. Four Syracuse players were named, two from the women's team and two from the men's. On the women's team, the two players that were chosen were Emily Hawryschuk ranked at #2 and Sarah Cooper ranked at #38. 

Cooper, a junior, has been a standout since the first time she stepped on the field a few years ago. As a freshman, she was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and she was an All-ACC Second Team selection. Inside Lacrosse recognized her as an All-America Second Team honoree and she was a midseason addition to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, the most prestigious award that you can win as a collegiate lacrosse player. 

As a sophomore, Cooper was named a Maverick Division I Second Team All-American and she was a member of the Tewaaraton Award Watch List after only getting through 8 games in the season. She also led the team in caused turnovers with 12.

Hawryschuk, ranked at #2 on the list behind Michael Sowers from Duke, is ranked the highest of any woman on the list. Hawryschuk played in every single game since she stepped on the field at Syracuse. Even as a freshman, she ranked second on the team in points (48) and goals (38). By her sophomore year, she led the team in points (61) and goals (53) as well as earning All-ACC First Team and All-Northeast Region First Team honors.

In her junior year, she won several awards ranging from IWLCA All-America First Team selection to All-ACC First Team. She also won ACC All-Tournament Team selection. She was ranked ninth in the nation in goals with 75 and she again led the team in points with 94. 

At the time her senior season got cut off, Hawryschuk was ranked second in the country with goals (39) and was fifth in the nation with points (46). She was also a member of the Tewaaraton Award Watch List and was named the Inside Lacrosse Clutch Player of the Year. 

So how does it feel to be the highest ranked woman on that list? Hawryschuk said she had a few initial thoughts running through her mind when she first found out the news. The article was sent to her by her father, who couldn't contain his excitement. 

"The first thing I think of is my parents," Hawryschuk said. "I think back to the trips up and down the East Coast and all of the hard work and effort they put in for me. It's a lot of time they've invested in me while I have three other siblings here at home." 

She also mentions her wide network of support. 

"There's so many people reaching out to congratulate me, I'm so thankful for the support system that I have," she said. 

She also brought up the list of the Top 50 players as a whole, and the pride she feels for the names on it other than her own.

"You have Sarah Cooper on there with me, a couple other Syracuse Men's Lacrosse players," Hawryschuk said. "Just to have my name on that list alongside so many amazing men and women lacrosse players...it's a huge honor to be on there no matter what number it is." 

As a player who has consistently been one of the top contributors on her team for goals, assists, and draw controls, my biggest question for Hawryschuk was how does she consistently maintain such a high level of play?

The simple answer: it's always been about the hard work. 

"I think that's a given," Hawryschuk said. "You commit to something and then you work your hardest at it." 

However, what a lot of people may not know is that there is also a mental component of the game that Hawryschuk says has contributed to her overall success, but she didn't fully develop her athlete mentality until later in her career.

"That was something that didn't come until Coach Gait, he really dialed that in," Hawryschuk said. 

Now, when Hawryschuk steps on the field to play, she has something specific she sets out to achieve- giving back to her parents, teammates and the other people who supported her along the way. When she plays her best, that's one way she can give back to her supporters.

"Now I step on the field and I play for them... [I'm] playing for all of these people who I know are supporting me" Hawryschuk said. "