Observations from SU’s loss to Yale: Sluggish start, draw woes persist
Freshman Molly Guzik was forced to fill in on the draw control Wednesday against Yale after SU's continued struggles led to a comfortable Bulldogs' lead. Courtesy of SU Athletics
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Few things have been constant this season for Syracuse.
The Orange came out of the gate strong with a three-game win streak, picking up sizable wins over UAlbany, then-No. 7 Maryland and Cornell to open the season. Then, heading into a stretch of five consecutive ranked contests, SU was forced to adjust to life without its strongest attacker, as Olivia Adamson was ruled out for the season with a lower body injury.
That led to a brutal 1-4 stretch, during which Syracuse fell six spots to a season-low No. 10 ranking. However, SU quickly turned things around afterward, picking up ranked wins over Loyola, Notre Dame and Virginia across a four-game win streak.
Heading into its final nonconference matchup against No. 13 Yale, SU had a chance to snag its fourth consecutive ranked win, finally exorcising its demons against top-20 foes. But it didn’t capitalize, and the Bulldogs dominated Syracuse from start to finish.
Here are some observations from No. 6 Syracuse’s (8-5, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) 13-10 loss to No. 13 Yale (8-3, 1-2 Ivy) Wednesday:
Sluggish start
Even in its wins, Syracuse has started off on the wrong foot. In its 13-12 win against Virginia, SU fell behind 5-2 before securing a 9-6 halftime lead. Against Stanford, the Orange conceded seven second-quarter goals to trail at the half before winning 14-13 in double overtime.
It was a similar story against Yale, but the Orange couldn’t recover Wednesday. By the time Syracuse registered its first shot of the contest, Yale was already up 2-0. Five minutes in, Emma Muchnick got SU on the board with a free-position goal, but the Bulldogs kept attacking.
Under two minutes later, Fallon Vaughn scored her own free-position goal to give Yale a 3-1 lead. And although SU responded well to enter the second quarter tied at 4-4, its offense didn’t keep that momentum going.
The Orange were outshot 7-5 in the second frame, and the Bulldogs outscored them 3-1 to enter the half with a 7-5 lead. Overall, the Orange were outshot 19-10 in the first half, and they never led throughout the entire contest.
It’s possible to rebound from slow starts in a fickle sport such as women’s lacrosse. Syracuse has proven that several times. But going 18 minutes without scoring a goal makes it difficult to establish any momentum.
Fallon on fire
Heading into Wednesday, all eyes were on Yale’s Jenna Collignon. The attacker entered having scored in 28 consecutive matches, and she led the Bulldogs with 36 goals on the year. If Yale was going to have a chance at upsetting the Orange, it’s easy to imagine Collignon would be a significant part of its efforts.
But with Collignon failing to score before the fourth quarter, that was not the case. Though as Superia Clark face-guarded the Bulldogs’ top scorer, Vaughn filled in her shoes with ease.
Vaughn’s first goal, coming on a free-position shot, gave Yale a rapid 2-0 lead just two minutes in. Her next goal, under five minutes later, made it 3-1. And in the second quarter, she added a third tally on an assist from Caroline Burt, giving her a hat trick before the first half ended.
After that, the Orange changed their approach, opting to face-guard both Collignon and Vaughn. But that strategy didn’t work either. With two of the Bulldogs’ top scorers erased, Taylor Lane was wide open to score her third goal of the day.
Vaughn tacked on two more goals with SU opting for a zone defense, bringing her single-game tally to five goals and giving Yale its largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter.
Draw control struggles
It’s no secret the Orange can’t win draw controls. They’ve been looking for answers on the draw throughout the whole season. SU started the campaign by going to Meghan Rode, but having won just 39 draws, she was quickly replaced by Joely Caramelli.
The Orange have since gone through a committee at the draw, with Mileena Cotter, Alexa Vogelman, Rode and Caramelli all sharing time at the position. But none of them have been the answer to SU’s troubles.
Against Yale, Caramelli got the nod at the opening draw. But after SU won just one of the first four draws, she was quickly yanked for Rode. That decision didn’t seem to help.
After winning two draws in the first, Rode lost all five of her draws in the second quarter. Overall, Syracuse lost 19 of 26 draw controls, and it only won three draws in the second half. It’s already difficult enough to mount a comeback. It’s nearly impossible if you can’t win possession, and that’s what bit SU versus Yale.
Phenomenal Pfaff
In net, Cami Donadio has been shaky for Yale. The senior has only allowed double-digit goals once this season, but in her last two contests, she’s conceded 16 goals while making just six saves. Overall, the Bulldogs’ goalie sports a middling .369 save percentage this season.
When Syracuse scored four times on its first five shots on goal, Yale head coach Erica Bamford decided to pull the senior once the second quarter began. Her replacement? Highly touted freshman Niamh Pfaff.
Pfaff had played sparingly before Wednesday, making seven appearances on clean-up duty for Donadio in significant wins. But recently, she’d started seeing more action in tight games against Stanford and Brown. Bamford trusted her to silence the Orange in the pivotal top-20 matchup.
Her trust was immediately rewarded. Pfaff allowed just one goal on four shots on goal in the second quarter, and she continued that momentum into the second half, finishing with eight saves on 14 shots on goal.
