SU musters just 5 shots in 1-0 loss to Cal
Syracuse was outshot 16-5 in its 1-0 loss against California Thursday. The game was deadlocked until the 64th minute, when Soleil Dimry’s goal sealed the win for the Golden Bears. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Most elite teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference feature a prolific goal scorer. No. 6 Florida State looks to Wrianna Hudson. No. 2 Notre Dame can choose between Izzy Engle and Annabelle Chukwu. No. 1 Virginia relies on Lia Godfrey or Maggie Cagle. The list goes on.
But Syracuse doesn’t have that luxury. It can turn to Mia Klammer. It sometimes feeds Ashley Rauch. Occasionally, Maya McDermott, Julia Arbelaez or Anna Rupert create scoring opportunities from the wings. But for the most part, the Orange are still searching for their game-breaking threat. That remained true on Thursday.
In Syracuse’s (4-4-4, 0-3-1 ACC) first-ever matchup against Cal (6-1-5, 2-0-1 ACC), Soleil Dimry’s second-half goal proved to be the difference in SU’s 1-0 loss. The Orange managed just five shots to the Golden Bears’ 16. While Syracuse rotated 17 players in, none of them found the back of the net.
SU’s performance mirrored its previous ACC contests, where its offense wasn’t entirely engaged and its defense did the heavy lifting.
After tying SMU, SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said her squad isn’t scared of anyone. She was confident her new backline would hold firm defensively and just as certain the attackers would take care of things up front.
But they didn’t. The Orange surrendered four goals against Florida State, one of which was an own goal. Facing the nation’s top-ranked squad in Virginia, Syracuse allowed three more. Meanwhile, its offense was outshot by 17 and 21. The Orange looked scared.
With an unranked Cal squad on deck, SU had a chance to prove it fears no one. Instead, its energy felt muted.
On one end, the Orange held firm. Lumi Kostmayer — Cal’s leading scorer with four goals — tested SU goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch just eight minutes in. The Golden Bears added another unsuccessful attempt in the opening 10 minutes.
But Syracuse simply couldn’t counter. It looked aimless in its own defending third. At times, it dispersed six or seven players into the 18-yard box. SU’s fear persisted.
Syracuse was constantly on its heels. Even when Vanderbosch picked up a save, she simply laid the ball off to her backline instead of clearing it further upfield. When Natalie Magnotta, Bree Bridges and Jasmine Nixon received it, they struggled to push it beyond Cal’s forwards.
Then, they finally caught on.
In the 12th minute, Kostmayer laid the ball off to Olivia McPherson. Her swift touch landed on Mia Fontana’s cleats, where she fired a shot toward Vanderbosch. The goalkeeper leapt right, but Bridges intercepted it before it even reached her.
Moments later, Fontana controlled the ball with her right foot. She scurried past Nixon into the box, but Bridges was there again. The defensive dominance translated to attacking opportunities.
With a feed upfield, Klammer evaded Cal midfielder Alex Klos’ press and dribbled to the fringe of the 18-yard box. After one last touch, she pinned a liner right at Golden Bears’ goalkeeper Teagan Wy. It wasn’t much, but it appeared to be a welcome sign for Syracuse’s attack.
However, Cal’s Elhom Khursand reclaimed possession and tried to squeeze down the line. Magnotta cleared the one-on-one, but it was nevertheless a good chance for the Golden Bears.
Cal was in command through 30 minutes of play. Coming out of halftime, it turned up the pressure even more.
Khursand started with a cross to Kostmayer just three minutes after the break. Vanderbosch dove forward to intercept the try. Six minutes later, Miriam Hils and Coco Thistle both lined up for a free kick. Hils drove forward, firing a shot right at Vanderbosch, who bobbled it before Klammer knocked it away.
After 14 shots, the Golden Bears finally capitalized.
Khursand pushed down the right flank with Bridges on her hip. The forward swiftly juked past Bridges, driving Magnotta in to close her out. Magnotta’s shift left Dimry open in the goalie box. Khursand fed Dimry, who placed her shot past a diving Vanderbosch. Ballgame.
At the beginning of Syracuse’s season, finding its prolific goal scorer didn’t matter. The Orange were facing lower-level nonconference teams they annihilated with ease. They experimented with sharing the ball because they could. Yet that’s no longer an option.
With SU’s ACC slate intensifying, it’s in dire need of the player who will fuel its offensive firepower. So far, that name remains unknown.
