WSOC : Communication, teamwork issues for SU amidst road struggles
The Syracuse women’s soccer team has formed a routine it can’t afford to repeat the rest of the season: Win at home and lose on the road.
The Jekyll and Hyde saga of home wins and road losses continues for the Orange (4-5-2) as it heads into a weekend series at the SU Soccer Stadium against South Florida (6-3-3) Friday at 7 p.m. and Marquette (7-4-2) Sunday at 1 p.m.
Coming off another road loss at Villanova this past weekend – which dropped the Orange to 0-5 on the road – head coach Phil Wheddon held a voluntary practice on Thursday. It allowed the players to refine the skills, talk more on the field and focus on extending their streak at home. ‘We’ve noticed the pattern,’ Wheddon said. ‘It’s well-documented that we haven’t lost so far at home. We’re very disappointed to not have gotten any road points, but the next three games will determine what happens at the end of the season.’
Those next three games will not get an easier as the Orange goes into the weekend homestand facing tough competition in the Bulls and the Golden Eagles, the latter of which is first in the Big East American Division.
The problem Syracuse faces is that it cannot pinpoint the factors contributing to its home success and road disappointments. The lack of communication evident in the beginning of the year has resurfaced. A lack of teamwork on the field has lead to gaps up the middle and more scoring opportunities for the Orange’s opponents.
Wheddon has noticed lately a poor team effort in handling the ball in addition to mental errors on the field that have come back to haunt the team. The Orange has allowed 11 goals in the past two matches. Eight of those goals have come in the second half.
‘In the past two games there have been a lot of isolated one-on-one situations,’ said sophomore defender Majory Elwell. ‘We were a lot stronger in the first half, but with them scoring so early in the second half a lot of us hung our heads and got frustrated. We just didn’t work well together as a team in the second half.’
Wheddon noted the players need to show more leadership on the field, not just from senior captains Sarah VanSickle and Karrah Benson.
‘I think the past couple games we haven’t been together,’ said senior defender Lauren Cappelli said. ‘We’re really working on being compact and communicating really well in the back. We’re working on not having huge gaps which have hurt us in past games.’
At this point in the season, the Orange is trying to find a solution to its road struggles it can continue on the path to the Big East Tournament. The team has seven games left in its regular season schedule. Three of those are away from home, including a make-up game Tuesday at Georgetown, which was canceled Oct. 3 due to a norovirus on the Georgetown campus. If Syracuse cannot break its poor road record, the remaining four home games will be crucial.
‘The last two home games will paint the picture on where we stand in respect to other teams in the Big East,’ Wheddon said. ‘Obviously we hope we can come away with some results and make the tournament.’
While that is the ultimate goal, the Orange is focusing on taking advantage of the two home games this weekend
‘We respect both teams greatly,’ Wheddon said. ‘Given the opportunity, we can get some results. The key is to stay compact as a team and not allow some openings that we have against these other teams and maintain the mental discipline and focus. Anything can happen at this point but hopefully our players rise to the challenge.’
