In her final year at Syracuse, Ashley Rauch reclaims her offensive edge
After getting injured as a freshman and being thrust into a defensive role, Ashley Rauch is back to pacing SU's offense in her final year. Leopold Gensler | Contributing Photographer
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Ashley Rauch was finally hitting her stride. As a freshman, she scored in Syracuse’s first exhibition game against Army, then netted another goal in SU’s regular-season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson before notching an assist versus Niagara four days later.
The verdict was clear: Rauch had arrived. Heading into her Aug. 29, 2021, matchup against Eastern Michigan, Rauch was named a starter, just as she had been in her last two games. She was one of four freshmen to start each of SU’s first three contests.
But the Eagles put her early breakout on hold.
Twenty-four minutes in, Rauch was stepped on while shooting, falling to the ground in pain. The freshman hobbled off the pitch. An examination revealed she’d fractured her Lisfranc — a ligament complex in the midfoot — sidelining her for the remainder of the season. Rauch was devastated.
“(We lost) an offensive weapon. We lost a part of our attack,” SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said. “Her standards are so high that not having her set the tone differently.”
After a lengthy recovery process, Rauch’s role still remained in question. Now, in her final season with the Orange, she’s found the answer. The fifth-year midfielder is blending the pass-first approach she possessed with her club team — FC Virginia — with the offensive production she briefly demonstrated as a freshman to anchor Syracuse’s offense one last time.
“She was willing to put her head down and find those opportunities to make sure this is the best year possible,” SU midfielder Emma Klein said. “There was a mental flip, like, ‘OK, this is the last year. I’m a captain. I’m a grad student. I need to put the ball in the back of the net.’”
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Two months before her injury, Rauch reported to Syracuse alongside Klein for their first day as college freshmen. Rauch was terrified at first. Everything felt entirely unknown, she said.
Though classes wouldn’t start for months, Rauch’s workload was at an all-time high. She worked daily with strength and conditioning coaches. When seasoned veterans such as Jenna Tivnan, Meghan Root and Lysianne Proulx arrived, practices intensified following a lackluster 1-7 campaign.
While the team spent the summer getting to know each other, Rauch remained reserved. Despite being part of an 11-player recruiting class, the nerves ate at her. On the field, Rauch’s quiet competition shone through. Off the field, she was consumed by the thought of being back on it.
It took months for Rauch to adjust. After never-ending practices, lifts and team meals, the season eventually arrived. Everything initially fell into place. Then, all at once, Rauch was back to square one.
During her time on the sideline, Rauch recalled the quiet composure she displayed as an 8-year-old with the Southwestern Youth Association. Her approach was identical to that of her first season with the Orange.
A new environment. New teammates. A new normal. One thing had changed, though. At age 8, Rauch hadn’t discovered her love for soccer. By the time she arrived in Syracuse, she had.
When Rauch’s soccer career began, she was observant, always taking in more than she said. Despite displaying an undersized frame, she played like she was twice her age, SYA and FC Virginia coach Christian Cziommer said.
Starring for Centreville-based SYA — a 20-minute drive from her home in Reston, Virginia — Rauch darted into spaces her opponents couldn’t comprehend. The ball was glued to her feet, Rauch’s father, Stewart Rauch, said. Her eyes constantly scanned the field for openings, her mind moving three steps ahead of her counterparts.
Ashley Rauch crosses past a defender while playing for FC Virginia. Rauch was one of the club’s top playmakers from age 8 through her senior year of high school. Courtesy of Stewart Rauch
She hadn’t even reached 11-on-11 soccer. Instead, Rauch showcased her talent in 7-on-7 matches. Despite her youth, Cziommer said she’d already become one of Northern Virginia’s emerging standouts.
It served as a wake-up call for opposing travel teams. One time, just as the defense thought it had her boxed, Rauch slipped through a seam, turned and rifled a shot. She modeled Cziommer’s German-inspired coaching style that encouraged “moving the ball forward and controlling the game’s pace.” She created value when there was none.
Yells often erupted from the sidelines; players frantically raced across the field to close her out.
“You guys can tell there’s one girl you have to stop, right?” Stewart recalled an opposing coach shouting about Rauch.
But as Rauch’s career advanced, her play style changed. After years of scoring on pug nets, Rauch was initially intimidated by goals that spanned 24 feet wide and eight feet tall, almost double her height. So, she’d pass up open lanes to set up her teammates instead.
“Sometimes it just felt like, ‘Hey, just take a chance yourself. You did all this work, and you don’t have to pass it off sideways. You can put it in as well,’” Cziommer said.
“She had the technical ability and skill to create something out of nothing and (encourage) a really top-class finish,” Bobby Puppione, another FC Virginia coach, added.
Rauch began to earn accolades for her vision and ability to orchestrate play from the midfield. She led her FC Virginia team in assists, receiving a spot to compete in the United States Soccer Development Academy.
Her success caught Adams’ attention. Rauch’s mother, Kelsey, who played soccer at Duke, inspired Rauch to set her sights on the Atlantic Coast Conference.
And when Adams attended one of Rauch’s tournaments, she sought four qualities: a coachable player, someone who knows how to win, someone to keep standards high and a player who’s always at her best. Rauch checked all the boxes.
Those traits were magnified after her injury. Rauch stepped in as a de facto coach, which helped her gain a different perspective on the style and speed of play. When she returned the following year, she helped the Orange to their first winning season since 2012 with an 8-7-3 record.
But something was wrong. With injuries to Klein and fellow defenders Kendyl Lauher, Aleena Ulke and Kate Murphy, Rauch was asked to fill their void on the back end. Her offensive production plummeted. It took six games for Rauch to score her first goal, just one of two on the year.
Her motivation never wavered, though, and as she always had, Rauch upheld her commitment. Adams said she didn’t need to ask Rauch twice for her maximum effort.
Ashley Rauch launches a shot during Syracuse’s game against Binghamton on Sept. 4. Through 10 games so far in 2025, Rauch has already scored four goals, SU’s second-best mark. Isaac Williams | Contributing Photographer
The following season, Rauch again found herself in a primarily defensive role. Once an architect of assists, Rauch’s game was rebuilt around her willingness to steer Syracuse to success. In 18 starts, she recorded just one goal and no assists.
“There were moments where I was questioning what happened,” Rauch said. “I had to take that role on and do that to the best I could.”
Leading up to her senior campaign, Rauch did everything necessary to return to the offensive-minded player she once was. She spent hours alone practicing shots from different angles and watching film from professional games to acclimate herself to unfamiliar situations.
Barring injuries, she was poised to play a more offensive role. At last, it came — the culmination of four years and 35 games in unfamiliar spots.
Rauch’s first true test came against then-No. 2 Florida State on Sept. 19, 2024. The Orange trailed 4-0 with less than seven minutes to play. SU had been held to 10 shots, while the Seminoles pelted Syracuse goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch with 20 tries.
The shutout seemed inevitable. Then Rauch made her move. With the ball spinning freely around the 18-yard box, FSU midfielder Lara Dantas closed in — but Rauch beat her to it. One touch was all it took. She fired the ball with her non-dominant left foot into the upper right corner, past the outstretched dive of Seminoles goalkeeper Addie Todd. Rauch called it one of the highlights of her career.
She ended the 2024 season tied for the team lead with five goals. After years of juggling different roles, Rauch was finally where she wanted to be.
“I was very excited to go back to the position I was recruited to play,” Rauch said. “That’s where I feel the most confident and calm.”
As SU’s three 2025 captains, Rauch, Klein and Vanderbosch traded ideas all summer on how to turn Syracuse’s fading program around. Rauch was focused on reclaiming her lethal attacking edge.
And she has. Through the Orange’s first 10 games, the graduate student has scored four goals, also becoming the first Syracuse player since 2016 to have multiple two-goal performances in one season.
Against Holy Cross on Aug. 24, the Orange led 1-0 toward the end of the first half. Rauch dribbled forward from midfield, cutting past Crusaders defender Megan Menard before rifling a shot into the back of the net from the fringe of the 18-yard box.
“It’ll go down as one of the best goals in history for Syracuse soccer,” Adams said of that goal.
“It made it feel like everything was worth it,” Rauch added.
Every touch, every run, every shot displays glimpses of the threat Syracuse envisioned when it first recruited Rauch. Her goals aren’t just a statistic — they’re proof she’s back.
“She’s our commander. She’s our general on the field,” Adams said. “It’s what Ash does.”
