In hard-fought, physical affair, Connecticut snaps SU women’s soccer’s 5-game unbeaten streak
By the time Skylar Sabbag left the field on Sunday, her nose became an innocent bystander after taking an elbow to the face in the closing minutes of the game. It was part of a recurring theme.
‘I think their game plan,’ Syracuse freshman goalie Brittany Anghel said, ‘was to just plow right through us.’
Knees were iced, noses were bloodied and everyone walked away a little worn out after taking part in the battle that was Syracuse against Connecticut. But in the end, Syracuse’s five-game unbeaten streak was over, and the Huskies handed the Orange a 3-0 loss on Sunday.
The Orange (5-4-3, 2-1-0 Big East) earned four corner kicks in the first half and had four shots, but trailed 2-0 at halftime when mistakes in the back end led to consistent scoring chances for Connecticut (5-4-2, 1-1-1 Big East).
But the 21-9 shot margin in favor of the Huskies doesn’t illustrate how competitive the game really was. Within the first 10 minutes of the match, several players on both sides were hitting the grass, following hard-nosed jersey tugging, feet tangling and battles for possession. For much of the first half, the mutually aggressive style of play was occasionally penalized, as it seemed as though the referees were making a point to allow the no-nonsense style of soccer.
Rosina Callisto, one of the team’s up-and-coming sophomore midfielders, was not surprised with the pace of the game.
‘We knew it was coming,’ Callisto said. ‘This whole week, we’ve been discussing how hard they were going to come out. We fought hard to the end, so there wasn’t much you can do. But it’s just a little disappointing because we’ve been doing so well lately.’
By the 22nd minute, Megan Bellingham was holding her head and walking off the field gingerly after colliding with a Connecticut defender.
By the 55th minute, defender Cecilia Borgstrom had received her second yellow card of the day, and the undermanned Syracuse defense was finding trouble keeping the Connecticut forwards in front of them.
By the 56th minute, a total of three cards had been handed out, with the officials being booed by fans of both teams.
And by the end of the game, hair was being yanked, players were being blatantly pushed, and neither side cared much about what the score was.
It was like watching a rivalry in the making.
‘(Connecticut) lost to St. John’s, who we beat 1-0,’ senior midfielder Rachel Blum said. ‘We absolutely knew they were going to come out on fire, wanting to win. … So they wanted revenge.’
Recognizing the initial disadvantage following Borgstrom’s red card, Connecticut’s Angelika Johansson found a seam, pushed forward and barreled through Anghel en route to scoring the game’s final goal.
‘I thought I had it in my hands, and then some girl came out of nowhere and plowed me over,’ Anghel said. ‘The referees are supposed to protect the goalkeepers. And I think they should have done a little better job of that. I’m getting bumped, and they’re not giving me any calls. So that’s tough to deal with.’
The red card was not the reason Connecticut won the game, but it did help the Huskies reinforce an aggressive mentality that led to several counterattacks and goal scoring opportunities. Connecticut has played Syracuse notoriously tough over the past decade at SU.
With the Huskies now holding a 16-0 tilt in the all-time series, several Orange players on this year’s team recognize if they were ever going to punch back their Big East bullies, this could be the year.
Syracuse certainly did not play like it is capable of it on Sunday. But at least in the eyes of head coach Phil Wheddon, the team played admirably. And now, throughout the rest of Big East play, it will have to learn to punch back.
‘Yes, it was physical, but it was physical on both sides,’ Wheddon said. ‘I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t back down.’
