SU survives scoreless stretch, drills tying goal against Pitt
Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon has acquired a couple gray hairs so far this season. Sunday was no different.
‘Personally, I think I’ve aged about 10 years so far this season,’ Wheddon said. ‘We are leaving it late at times, but I’m glad that we are scoring goals.’
The Orange scored late again Sunday versus Pittsburgh. Down by a goal in the game’s final minutes of regulation, SU and Wheddon were once again on edge for a score. But sophomore forward Jenna Rickan scored in the 88th minute, and SU (5-7-4, 2-4-1 Big East) escaped with a 1-1 tie in front of 337 at the SU Soccer Stadium Sunday.
The goal was the eighth time this season SU has scored with 10 minutes or fewer remaining. It was also the fifth time the Orange has scored with two minutes or less on the clock.
Although a poor start to the game yielded a goal for the Panthers in the 16th minute, the Orange was able to climb back and score on one of its wide array of chances in the second half.
To start, the Panthers’ Katelyn Ruhe served a ball in behind the SU defense, and Klarissa Ames scored on a short slow roller to open the scoring. The Orange outshot Pittsburgh (4-9-2, 1-5-1 Big East) 5-4 in the first half, but it struggled to pass the ball efficiently enough to have any solid looks at the goal.
‘I think we took far too many touches individually in the first half and that caused problems,’ Wheddon said. ‘That allowed them to shift and break us down.’
But Wheddon encouraged his players at halftime to possess the ball with just one or two touches before passing in the second half. The change eventually put Pittsburgh back on its heels and opened up space to run the offense.
A quicker pace and shift in mentality would earn SU an overwhelming 11-2 shot advantage in the second half.
‘Coming out slow was really hard for us to come back,’ Rickan said. ‘When you keep going, keep pushing and keep trying to talk and pep each other up, it comes. Everyone started playing our game instead of their game.’
A wealth of chances ensued, and the Orange had four quality chances turned away with 10 minutes remaining in the game. In the 81st minute, midfielder Rachel Blum received a cross on a free kick from Rosina Callisto. Blum got her head on the ball, directing it toward the left post, but Pittsburgh goalkeeper Morie Kephart made a sprawling save to keep the Panthers ahead.
But with just two minutes remaining in regulation, Rickan fired a shot in from 10 yards out to even the score. It was something Wheddon has seen all year long. The Orange struggle to accumulate quality chances in the first half, before finally scoring in the latter part of the second half.
Although these situations are not what the SU coach and his team hope for, the results have proven a lot about Syracuse this season.
‘We just keep fighting until the end, and that shows the heart of the team,’ Blum said. ‘It shows how the girls really put their heart into it. We fight until the end, and that’s all that we really can do. We wanted the win bad and, unfortunately, it didn’t happen.’
The teams would end the overtime period with four shots apiece. Tina Romagnuolo nearly found the back of the net when she had a breakaway with just less than five minutes to play in the game. The Panthers goalie cut off Romagnuolo and sent her to the ground, turning away any chance at a Syracuse victory.
A tie is not the objective for any team, but following Rickan’s heroics, the Orange will take a point toward its Big East record. In the tight conference standings, every point matters.
‘It’s a relief, because this is a game we couldn’t afford to lose,’ Wheddon said. ‘We’re a point or two out of the fifth spot, and our goal is to be in the top five. We’ve still got a chance. I’m proud of the resilience, and I’m proud that we came back.’
