Treanor retained Caitlin Defliese, the architect of the Orange defense that allowed only 9.95 goals per game in 2021 and ranked No. 15 nationally. She also brought on Kenzie Kent, a member of Boston College’s “Big Three” that advanced to three consecutive national ghampionship games.
Rarely did a rep go without some form of instruction from the coaching staff. Treanor stayed in a perpetual state of motion. She toggled between teaching the intricacies of pick plays with Emma Ward — who will miss this season with a lower leg injury, as was announced in January — and freshman Payton Rowley to retrieving a whiteboard to diagram an offensive pattern. Each piece of advice she offered seemed to answer not just how but why. At one point during a 2-v-1 drill from the wings, all three coaches offered individual pointers.
Two nights later and after a 350-mile drive south, Treanor suited up for the U.S. national team with which she won a World Championship in 2017. After she dished a cross-crease assist to Charlotte North during the U.S.’s 19-3 win over Canada at Fall Classic, she pulled North aside. In a matter of seconds, Treanor then broke down the play and explained where to look for openings in the defense.
“She has one of the best minds in the game,” said North, the 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner who returned to Boston College for a fifth year. “Whether she’s in the middle of playing or on the sidelines, it’s incredible to see her spreading her knowledge of the game and her creativity, which is so unique.
“She knows the game better than anyone and cares about her players on a really deep level … She’s really a once in a lifetime coach.”
Treanor inspired a generation to reconfigure what was possible on the field through her creative flair. Swart could hardly contain her excitement when the Orange found out Treanor would become their new head coach. “Oh, my dreams are coming true,” she thought. “She’s my idol. I was definitely fangirling for a moment.”
“She was literally a superstar in my eyes,” added Tyrrell, who said Treanor’s career was a driving factor in her committing to Syracuse. “That was who I wanted to be.”
Tyrrell noted that Treanor’s experience as one of the greatest players of all time made it easy to take all her teachings to heart. “She obviously knows what she’s talking about,” Tyrrell said. “If you don’t listen [to her], you are kind of a fool.”
As if on command after Treanor’s instruction during practice at Ensley, Ward ran off a pick on the left-wing then threaded a pass through two defenders to Emma Tyrrell, who finished in tight.
“You see how simple that is?” Treanor asked the rest of the team about the “Emma to Emma” connection. “It should be that simple all the time.”
“They teach us when something is going wrong instead of just letting it go,” reserve attacker Kenzie Harris said of the coaching staff. “Every day we’ve learned something. I don’t think a lot of teams can say that.”