No. 6 SU snaps 2-game losing streak with 1-0 win over No. 7 Duke
Despite setbacks with losses to Virginia and Wake Forest, Syracuse bounced back by narrowly squeaking past No. 7 Duke on Friday. Keenan Sawada | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse opened the scoring, just to be pinned back defending a penalty corner in the middle of the third period. The situation was eerily reminiscent of how then-No. 4 Syracuse lost to then-No. 3 Virginia last Sunday.
Late collapses plague the Orange in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year. Their only two losses — against then-No. 20 Wake Forest and the Cavaliers — came from a late equalizer by the opposition, leading to heartbreaking losses.
The insertion from Duke forward Alaina McVeigh was spot on. Blue Devils midfielder Madison Beach’s trap was perfect. With one flick, midfielder Julia Boehringer sent the ball rocketing toward the bottom right corner of SU’s net.
Even McVeigh had her hands in the air, already celebrating.
It was déjà vu for the Orange — until it wasn’t.
Before the ball could reach the net, Boehringer’s shot deflected off Duke midfielder Brynn Crouse and went wide. The Orange took their luck and ran with it, literally.
“We were hungry for a win,” SU midfielder Lieke Leegangers said. “We wanted to be the hardest working team at Coyne.”
No. 6 Syracuse (7-2, 1-2 ACC) held on to its lead over No. 7 Duke (5-3, 2-1 ACC) until the buzzer rang, beating the Blue Devils 1-0 on Friday. Although possession was fairly balanced, Syracuse dominated the attacking quarter of the field, firing off 12 shots to the Blue Devils’ six.
It was this attacking prowess that led to SU defender Bo van Kempen opening the scoring just over 10 minutes into the match.
After a patient spell of possession in the backfield, Leegangers ignited the offense. Receiving the pass around midfield, she recognized a gap in the Blue Devils’ formation and drove into the space.
As Duke defenders closed in behind her, Leegangers picked up her head and delivered a through ball into the arc. As it reached SU forward Liz Stange, she was fouled, awarding the Orange, and van Kempen, an all-too-familiar penalty corner.
SU forward Pati Strunk’s insertion found van Kempen at the top of the arc. van Kempen turned her great start to the season into a record-breaking one with her signature clinical vision. Her shot drilled into the back of the net, nutmegging two Duke defenders in the process. It was her career-high 16th goal of the season.
The Orange kept their foot on the gas.
In the second period, Syracuse won another penalty corner. van Kempen passed the ball to SU defender Danique Schuurman, but Duke goalkeeper Kaiya Chepow saved her bottom-corner shot.
Then, just three minutes later, Syracuse won another penalty corner. However, an SU foot foul during the buildup resulted in a turnover.
It was carelessness that had led to the Orange’s losses in past ACC games, and they were determined that it would never repeat.
“Coming off of last weekend, we were on a mission to play as a team,” head coach Lynn Farquhar said. “The past is the past, and we knew that. What we worked on in training was how we grow from it.”
In the third period, it seemed like they’d learned. Just five minutes in, Syracuse had its first look at a goal.
Stange rushed down the wing, ripping a shot. Chepow’s save deflected right in front of Stange, who lifted her stick and spiked the ball down, forcing the best out of the goaltender to keep the ball out of her net.
Even with a few Duke chances, including its final penalty corner in the third period, SU kept trudging on. As the fourth quarter rolled around, it should have been Syracuse’s game.
But a last-minute surge from the Blue Devils threatened that stability.
Five minutes in, Duke built out of the back, passing in between Syracuse defenders, who were trying to press. Then McVeigh was found on the wing. The forward dribbled past Strunk before delivering a through ball to defender Ava Cickavage. Cickavage’s backhanded shot was just inches wide of equalizing the scoresheet.
What ensued was disarray. A Hattie Madden green card and an extra outfielder substitution put Syracuse down by two players. On top of that, multiple stick fouls caused stoppages and turnovers, allowing Duke more time to plan out how to stifle Syracuse’s defense.
Despite that preparation, the ball flew back and forth on the field, not spending more than half a minute on any side, leading to SU’s win.
Farquhar has spoken about grit before, but as she watched her team fight through those chaotic closing minutes to break their losing streak, she finally saw her players show it in the ACC.
“We came off the field with blood on fingers and somebody else being taken out, and we still maintained possession of the ball,” Farquhar said. “I think the grit showed up. I think there was a difference when the team decided, ‘No, the tempo is going back and forth, but we’re going to own it.’”
