WLAX : Offensive outburst leads Syracuse women’s lacrosse to season-opening win
Gary Gait had no doubts that his team would light up the scoreboard in its season opener against Le Moyne.
Having three of the Big East’s top five leaders in overall points – senior attack Katie Rowan, junior attack Halley Quillinan and junior midfielder Christina Dove – returning this season, the Syracuse women’s lacrosse head coach didn’t expect any drop off in offensive production from his trio.
The Dolphins immediately learned that Gait’s hunch would prove to be correct. Four minutes and 27 seconds into the game, Rowan, Quillinan and Dove had each fired in a goal to propel the Orange to an early three-goal lead.
Syracuse would continue its rapid barrage of goals, crushing the Dolphins, 21-4, Sunday at the Carrier Dome in front of 1,011.
‘It was kind of expected that we would put the ball in the net,’ Gait said. ‘We’re returning a lot of weapons from last year. It was just nice to see (the goals) spread out and spread around and lots of different scorers. It wasn’t just one or two players doing it all, and we’ll look to continue that.’
With the Orange’s top-three returning scorers threatening Dolphins’ goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo with shots, Le Moyne’s defense quickly lost all of its confidence. Syracuse outplayed its neighboring rival, scoring five goals off its first 11 shots on goal.
Even when the Dolphins cracked down on the Orange’s trio, it opened up opportunities for other players to inflict heavy pressure. Senior attacks Megan Mosenson and Awehiyo Thomas were benefactors of Le Moyne’s schematic switch and combined to tally five goals and three assists.
‘That’s definitely one of our goals this year,’ Quillinan said of her team’s ability to disperse the scoring. ‘We have so many offensive threats, starting and coming in off the bench, that a defense can’t just key in on a certain player or two. We’re really excited about all the girls stepping up this year.’
Despite the constant slides in coverage, Dove managed to impose her will on the opposing defense and pick up where she left off in 2008. In the first half, the junior midfielder netted two goals and had three assists – two of those to Quillinan. Dove would tack on another goal to finish with a game-high six points.
‘It was great to get out there, move the ball around and play a really balanced attack,’ Dove said. ‘I think that’s always our goal, to start off fast and to get a few goals and get everyone touching the ball and get the offense and defense going. It’s a great way to start off the game and just a great kick start to our season.’
By halftime, the Orange had essentially wrapped up the match, converting 11-of-26 first-half shots and leading the Dolphins by nine goals. Even the Syracuse’s defense played assertively and forced nine first-half turnovers.
During the intermission, SU received an additional incentive that would motivate the unit to finish off Le Moyne. The returning Orange players received their much-anticipated Big East championship rings during a ceremony on the field, evoking numerous smiles and hugs among the players.
‘It was really cool,’ Quillinan said. ‘Last season was a great season. It’s great to be out here and play again. We have a lot of things to look forward to this year hopefully. As a team, we want to make it all the way and I think if each of us can do that and lift up our personal games, then we will be a hard team.’
Syracuse played with that mentality in the second half. Quillinan, who scored her game-high four goals in the first half, embraced the playmaker role shortly into the half and found Thomas cutting inside to accrue another assist.
Le Moyne’s Mia Valletta would combat the score with two goals of her own in the first 12 minutes of the half.
But that would be the Dolphins’ climactic moment. With Rowan and sophomore Elise Terracciano’s responding with a pair of goals each, the Orange capped the blowout with an 8-0 run and opened up the season with a motivating victory.
‘We got what we needed from the game today,’ Gait said. ‘It was our first opportunity in the past five and a half weeks of practice to face an opponent in a scrimmage or a game. The nice thing about today is that every single player got in and had an opportunity to play.’
