Syracuse falls short in game of runs at Sun Life Stadium against No. 2 Florida
In a rematch of last year’s final four, No. 2 Florida (7-0) held off No. 5 Syracuse (2-2) 14-10 on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Michelle Tumolo’s four goals weren’t enough for the Orange to prevail over the Gators’ powerful offense.
In last year’s final four against the Gators, SU used a 9-2 run to erase a seven-goal deficit, fighting back into the game and forcing overtime. Syracuse won in double overtime, advancing to its first national championship.
Six minutes into Saturday’s contest, Florida jumped out to a three-score lead after unassisted goals by Shannon Gilroy, Gabi Wiegand and Ashley Bruns.
Tumolo and Alyssa Murray accounted for SU’s first two goals, and the Orange cut the deficit to one goal. The Gators responded with another 3-0 run, including two of Kitty Cullen’s four goals, to push the lead to four with 11:20 left in the first half.
Wiegand and Gilroy each netted their second goals for Florida – Kelsey Richardson replaced SU goalie Alyssa Costantino in the cage after Wiegand’s score – while Bridget Daley and Tumolo scored for SU. Still down by four, Tumolo finished a free-position shot and Linley Block found the back of the net to draw the Orange within two with less than three minutes to go. But that was the closest Syracuse got.
Florida went on another three-goal run to go up by five with 27:32 left in the game. SU answered with a three-score stretch of its own, including Tumolo’s fourth goal, to again close the gap to two with 19:06 remaining.
But the Gators put together yet another three-goal run to close the door on Syracuse’s comeback attempt. Cullen, Gilroy and Bruns netted their fourth, third and second goals respectively for a 14-9 lead with 10:49 remaining.
About a minute later, Murray fed Kailah Kempney for an SU goal but the Orange wouldn’t score again.
The Gators dominated on ground balls, 13-7, to make up for Syracuse’s 15-12 faceoff advantage. Florida goalie Mikey Meagher, the nation’s leader in save percentage a year ago, saved eight of the 18 shots on goal.
Tumolo’s five-point performance moved her into third place on the Orange’s all-time scoring list and tying her for fifth in goals scored. Murray’s two goals tied her for eighth on SU’s all-time list.
The Orange travels to Towson, Md., to take on Towson on Saturday at 1 p.m.
