No. 4 SU handed 1st loss of 2025 with 2-1 OT defeat to No. 20 Wake Forest
No. 4 Syracuse controlled the ball but couldn’t string together chances late, leading to a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 20 Wake Forest. Isaac Williams | Contributing Photographer
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The night of Sep. 19 was supposed to mark the triumphant return of Syracuse field hockey to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange entered conference play on the heels of wins over then-No. 16 Rutgers, then-No. 13 Ohio State and then-No. 11 Princeton on the road.
SU’s unmarred 6-0 record — the program’s best start in seven years — propelled it to a No. 4 ranking. Wake Forest, meanwhile, entered Friday’s contest ranked No. 20.
Despite the difference on paper, Syracuse (6-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) fell to Wake Forest (5-2, 1-0 ACC), 2-1 in overtime. Lauren Storey converted on a penalty corner for the Demon Deacons in overtime, pulling off the upset.
Nonetheless, the loss was a far closer contest than the score might indicate. Syracuse controlled the ball for most of the game, maintaining possession in a slow, methodical manner.
Wake Forest relied on quick counterattacks, striking Syracuse as the Orange piled numbers up top. The Demon Deacons broke down SU while it scrambled back to defend, and inside-the-circle fouls generated nine penalty corners for Wake Forest — the only attacking chances where the odds were truly in its favor.
Even though it had the ball the most, Syracuse didn’t enjoy the near-complete dominance it had over the likes of Fairfield and Lock Haven. Misplaced passes disrupted possession spells in the first two quarters, resulting in turnovers.
Syracuse midfielder Aiden Drabick weaved through 3 defenders but misplaced the through ball into the arc, while Syracuse forward Lieke Leeggangers picked the pocket of a Wake Forest midfielder but lost the eventual 1-on-1 to Wake Forest defender Reabetswe Phume.
“We had opportunities,” Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar said. “Opportunity doesn’t mean much, though, unless you go after it.”
The Orange struggled to convert possession into attacking chances in the final quarter of the field, managing only six shots compared to Wake Forest’s 15.
“The stats don’t match what you see possession-wise,” Farquhar said. “However, that’s the piece of the game that matters, and we have to kick it into gear in the 25s.”
At the same time, on the opposite 25, defensive cracks began to show just 10 minutes into the game.
After a swift penalty corner strike from Syracuse defender Bo van Kempen, a well-played clearance set up forward Storey on the wing. With the Orange sprinting to recover ground, Storey piled on the momentum, picking her head up and delivering a pinpoint through ball, which gave Wake Forest forward Faye Janse a 1-on-1 chance with the keeper, leaving the SU defenders 15 yards away.
Janse’s shot went wide, but it was an early sign that even without possession, the Demon Deacons could be dangerous. As the second half began, they proved that.
Wake Forest lined up in an aggressive 2-4-4 formation to take the center pass, pushing four midfielders and four forwards up to stifle van Kempen’s defense. It continued to dominate the attacking quarter, getting shots off left and right.
But Syracuse got the first look on goal in the third quarter. After weaving through three Wake Forest players, Syracuse forward Ally Snyder laid the ball off to Aubrey Turner. Turner spotted a gap in the Demon Deacons’ defense, and her pass to defender Frédèrique van den Dungen threaded through four Wake Forest defenders.
Yet, as van den Dungen got space to turn, she crashed into Wake Forest goalkeeper Ellie Todd. Forward Taylor Bigbie pounced on the loose ball. She drove a shot directly at goal, but Wake Forest midfielder Mia Schoenbeck blocked the attempt with her arm.
After an extensive video review, the play was not deemed a foul, much to the dismay of the Syracuse bench.
It didn’t take long for the Orange to make up for the lost opportunity, though, as van Kempen slotted a penalty corner in the back of the net after a foot foul by Phume.
Despite being down, the Demon Deacons were never out. Just a minute into the fourth quarter, Janse was fouled during a scramble for the ball in the Orange’s arc, resulting in a Wake Forest penalty corner.
Although goalkeeper Tane King’s diving save stopped the first penalty corner shot from defender Phoebe Hall, the ball deflected off a Syracuse defender’s foot, and another penalty corner was declared. This time, Hall shot to the other side, and it went cleanly in the bottom right corner.
Wake Forest kept the momentum throughout the fourth quarter. It got to each second ball that Syracuse didn’t, and a missed penalty corner by van Kempen in the final moments of regular time seemed to hit the Orange’s spirits harder.
As the match went into overtime, Wake Forest — the team that had relied on quick counterattacks and penalty corners to go toe to toe with Syracuse — was now dominating possession. Just three minutes in, Wake Forest defender Mia Montag collected a routine pass on the wing. She looked up and saw a path into the shooting arc. As she cut back to weasel out of Syracuse midfielder Bo Madden’s pressing, the ball hit the latter’s foot, and a penalty corner was declared.
Although the first penalty corner went awry, with Schoenbeck clattering into van Kempen, the second one went to plan. Storey received the insertion pass and — in one hit — drove the ball up and into the back of the net.
“We just needed to get the job done. The team set it up for me, and I just put it away,” Storey said. “I was really excited when I scored. It was nice that we didn’t have to run anymore.”
For Syracuse, getting the job done by pushing until the final minutes is something its looking to get back to doing.
“We felt the scales tip today,” Farquhar said. “There is a difference with grit, there is a composure to it, and I think that’s the edge piece and that needs to show up.”
