Syracuse suffers 2-1 defeat to Niagara for 1st loss of season
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Nicky Thrasher Adams operates at her own pace.
When Syracuse’s coaches take their places on the sideline, they walk in a single-file line. Assistant Brian Dunleavy takes the furthest folding chair, goalie coach Michele Barletta takes the closest one and Thrasher Adams sits in the middle.
With her right leg crossed over her left, she holds a yellow pen and black notebook with papers sagging out. Oftentimes, nobody hears her bark out commands besides substitutions. She rarely sits up.
Meanwhile, Barletta isn’t afraid to pace the sideline and call out his players. When Niagara sent the ball across the Orange’s goal line Thursday, he screamed at Chloe Joseph and Jasmine Nixon, telling the defenders to “take a touch.”
Barletta and Thrasher Adams’ styles complement each other, giving Thrasher Adams appropriate control, she said. She doesn’t react intensely to an SU miscue. Her style keeps players more focused on the present than the past, which is especially key in a game like Thursday’s when the Orange trailed for the first time all season.
Thrasher Adams’ patience got the Orange within one score with Moo Galbus’ first-career goal, but Syracuse (3-1-1, 0-0-0, Atlantic Coast) dropped its first game in 2026 with a 2-1 loss to Niagara (2-1-0, 0-0-0 Metro). The Purple Eagles’ Caitlyn Gratton scored the opening goal on SU goalie Maggie Manning — in her first Syracuse start — less than two minutes in, and Lucy Trinder dealt the dagger nearly 80 minutes later.
“We looked a bit tired chasing after the first mistake,” Thrasher Adams said. “I told the girls we got punched in the face.”
Gratton’s second-minute screamer visually shifted the momentum. SU continued to move the ball downfield, taking 12 shots to Niagara’s seven and keeping the ball in the attacking third for nearly the entirety of the ensuing 43 minutes.
But the Orange were hindered by Ali Howard’s 16th-minute strike that nearly nicked the post and Gabby Wisbeck’s shot in a similar spot three and a half minutes later. And the way Syracuse conceded earlier was strung together by an unlucky array of mistakes.
“I don’t think we were there from the start,” Galbus said. “We made a mistake from the start, and we were chasing ever since the first two minutes, so it was hard to get back from that.”
The Orange’s miscue happened playing out the back. The strategy is arguably the most successful way to tire a defense and advance downfield. But to execute, SU must use its wings, which it failed to do.
Syracuse tossed a backward, conservative throw-in, ignoring a pair of open midfielders. It shifted pressure on Nixon at the edge of the box, and she placed the ball in the danger zone.
Now stuck on SU’s right flank, inaccurate Anna Croyle and Nixon touches gave Gratton, the reigning Metro Conference Offensive Player of the Week, a wide-open whack at goal, which she dipped over Manning and under the crossbar to put the Purple Eagles up 1-0 90 seconds in.
“We panicked,” Thrasher Adams said. “We needed to step up higher and put them under pressure, and we were nervous about leaving so many other numbers behind us.”
For the next 53 minutes, SU played arguably its most stalwart defense of the season by not allowing a shot on goal. Syracuse constantly had the ball, and when it didn’t, Nixon often reset play by skying the ball downfield.
That first-half offense revolved around Wisbeck, who, about a half hour in, received a series of passes on the left flank for the Orange’s first shot on goal.
“We expect a lot from her,” Thrasher Adams said of Wisbeck. “She’s very versatile where we can play her on the outside or on the inside. She had some great moments with service.”
SU couldn’t capitalize, though, facing repeated adrenaline rushes in the box. Nine minutes into second-half action, Howard fed Abby Incorvaia — whose three-game goal-contribution streak ended Thursday — for a high shot. Croyle mirrored that with seven minutes remaining, missing the Orange’s most open net Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Purple Eagles dictated possession. Gratton, who nabbed a game-high three shots on goal, tested Manning, the Houston transfer, with a few low shots she pounced on. Thrasher Adams said Maya Naimoli is SU’s starter rather than Manning, but she trusts Manning as well. She also wishes her defense had a bit more “bite” to help her out.
“Maggie is a hell of a goalkeeper and deserved (the start),” Thrasher Adams said. “We’re 100% comfortable with her.”
Manning’s performance only went so far. Niagara ran circles around the Orange and could’ve struck during the 81st minute. Naiya Johnson had a free net and made an extra pass inside to Trinder, who beat Manning on her right.
Syracuse immediately subbed in Howard. In the 89th minute, Wisbeck launched a long, left-flank throw-in, which sank beneath three Purple Eagles. Howard crossed to Galbus to finish the one-timer.
“It felt really good, but I know that we had to keep going and get another goal,” Galbus said.
SU urgently grabbed the ball from the goal and ran it back to midfield to commence play. Thrasher Adams stood up for the first time that half. Yet, Niagara sat her down real quick.
While the Orange team stretched postgame, Thrasher Adams put her arm around her son and riffed about costly mistakes. But giving herself control with her coaches isn’t one of them.
“That’s why I brought them here,” she said.
