Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – While her players jogged back into the locker room after finishing their postgame stretches, Syracuse associate head coach Heather Farrell seemed unbothered as she fielded questions from the media. Her demeanor didn’t match that of a coach who just watched her team drop a crucial conference matchup.

Following losses of any kind this season, SU head coach Britni Smith’s main message to her team is that it must have a “short memory.” Now Smith is gone, serving as Canada’s assistant head coach at the Olympics. As she briefly reflected on the loss, Farrell made sure to keep that sentiment alive.

“We can’t hang our heads. We’ve got to keep our chins high and be ready for the Lakers,” Farrell said. “That’s the most important game right now.”

To close out its first two-game set with Farrell at the helm, Syracuse (14-15-3, 10-10-2 Atlantic Hockey America) dropped a crucial three points in the standings in a 4-2 defeat at the Rochester Institute of Technology (15-16-0, 10-12-0 AHA) Saturday afternoon. Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Orange stormed back in the second with back-to-back goals from Stella Costabile and Nea Tervonen. But, despite SU’s efforts to protect its slim lead, the Tigers drew even late in the middle frame and never looked back.

Following Syracuse’s thrilling 3-2 victory over RIT hours earlier, Farrell emphasized the importance of her squad coming out “ready from the first drop of the puck.” That didn’t happen.

Instead, what ensued throughout most of the first 20 minutes was a Tigers offensive barrage.

Taking advantage of the Orange’s sloppiness out of the gate, RIT’s forwards peppered goalie Ava Drabyk with the game’s first four shots on target. Other than a fortunate high-sticking call wiping out what appeared to be an early goal for the Tigers, the young netminder’s brilliance allowed Syracuse to weather the storm. But it only delayed the inevitable.

After a careless interference penalty from Charlotte Hallett, Linda Rulle opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle. The strike marked RIT’s third player-up goal of the series.

Afterward, Syracuse’s composure only continued to unravel. Inaccurate passes and ugly turnovers in the neutral zone kept the Orange from providing much of a threat for the Tigers over the first 11 minutes of play. SU recorded only three shots on target during the stretch.

“We weren’t as sharp as I’d like us to be, but our effort was there,” Farrell said. “It was a bit of a cat and mouse game for a little bit in that period, but I thought our energy was good.”

Faced with two RIT players, Jocelyn Fiala blew a tire midway through the period as she skated backwards, creating a two-on-one for Drabyk to deal with all by herself. Though the goalie ultimately came up with the stop, the sequence perfectly encapsulated SU’s poor start.

Sparked by a power-play opportunity, Syracuse’s attack showed signs of life in the latter half of the period and strung together six consecutive shots on goal. Regardless, its 1-0 deficit remained at the intermission.

“I think we just needed to settle in,” Farrell said. “We needed to have poise with the puck, connect on passes and be more confident while we had the puck.

Out of the break, Syracuse’s lineup took the ice much more composed. Keeping pace with the Tigers’ speedy forwards, the Orange’s aggressive forecheck gave RIT’s forwards fits in their own end as they attempted to break out the puck.

The constant pressure resulted in a pair of early shots on goal, as Sami Gendron and Tervonen forced Sophia Bellina to be sharp. The Tigers’ first shot of the period didn’t come until over five minutes in.

Just as Syracuse’s five-on-five game was beginning to open up, it was forced to sit on the bench as RIT was given yet another power play chance. This time, SU’s penalty kill made the proper adjustments. Stymied by blocks from Gendron, Jackson Kinsler and Tervonen, RIT’s nationally-ranked unit only managed to test Drabyk with one shot amid the chaos.

Despite going 1-for-3 on the day, Farrell said SU’s penalty killing performance was still an encouraging one.

“I liked our adjustments,” Farrell said. “We didn’t give them a whole lot of opportunities. Even though they scored on two of them, we didn’t give them a whole lot of chances on the power play.”

Fresh off the successful kill, Syracuse finally turned its defense into offense with two garbage goals under six minutes apart.

Pouncing on the loose puck amid a net-mouth scramble, Costabile drew SU even with a backhanded swipe past the outstretched pad of Bellina. Then, during a similarly hectic sequence later in the period, Tervonen cleaned up the loose change at the right side of the crease to give the Orange their first lead of the afternoon. The tally capped off one of SU’s most efficient periods of the season, as it finished the frame with seven accurate shots on 12 attempts.

Unfortunately for the Orange, that accuracy didn’t carry over into the final frame.

Still reeling from RIT’s player-up strike late in the second, Syracuse came out flat and never fully found its footing. The Tigers’ offense took over. One SU defensive breakdown later, RIT reclaimed its one-goal lead. Following the tally, Syracuse pelted seven shots toward Bellina down the stretch. It desperately looked to draw even, but to no avail. An empty-netter with 30 seconds remaining sealed RIT’s victory.

Despite missing out on an all-important three points Saturday, Syracuse still very much controls its own destiny with six more up for grabs next weekend at Mercyhurst. And just like Smith, Farrell knows her team has what it takes to rise to the occasion.

“We know the structure,” Farrell said. “We know the goal in the end. We miss Brit, we wish her well, but we’re gonna figure out how to get this done.”

Published on February 7, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu | @ma77hew_gray