Abby Incorvaia makes her chances count in Syracuse’s 1st ACC win over Pitt
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There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with getting another chance. Especially when the first one felt like it should have counted.
Abby Incorvaia had her share of them Thursday night.
The Video Assistant Referee took away her first goal. Two minutes later, she scored a goal that counted. Her first dangerous free kick nearly added to Syracuse women’s soccer’s 1-0 lead. But when Incorvaia got another chance from the same spot with three minutes left in a tied game, her delivery set up Farrah Stephens-Martin’s game-winner.
Incorvaia’s repeated chances helped Syracuse (4-5-2, 1-3-0 Atlantic Coast) snap a five-game scoreless streak with a 2-1 win over Pitt (6-4-1, 0-3-0 ACC) at SU Soccer Stadium. The Orange put the ball in the back of the net three times, including Incorvaia’s disallowed goal in the second minute. SU earned its first ACC win since Oct. 11, 2025, despite being outshot 26-15 and 9-6 in shots on goal.
“I’m really sick of the heartbreaking moments. I’m ready for something to go on our side,” SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said. “But what a response.”
Syracuse didn’t wait long to show it was ready to break its scoring drought.
In the second minute, Jasmine Nixon received a desperate back pass from Anna Croyle. The captain’s intentions were simple: retain possession and keep Syracuse from falling on its back foot, as it often has in conference play so far this season.
Nixon had other ideas.
She launched a through ball that found its way past everyone and into the stride of Incorvaia, who was making a run on Panther’s defender Claire Jones. Incorvaia took two gathering touches before switching feet with an Allen Iverson-like crossover, sending Jones to the ground and finishing into the right side netting.
The Orange finally scored. Adams went to the bench, high-fiving every substitute one by one. Next came captain Gabby Wisbeck, who ran straight to the sideline to celebrate. Incorvaia followed. For a moment, a five-game-sized weight appeared to come off Syracuse’s shoulders.
Then the goal disappeared.
VAR ruled Incorvaia offside, wiping away what would have been Syracuse’s first goal since Aug. 27 in a 2-1 loss to Niagara. The celebration ended almost as quickly as it started. But Syracuse didn’t let the call linger.
“I think like scoring in that first minute like set the tone for the whole game,” Incorvaia said. “Even though they called it back, we went at it again: same energy, same mindset.”
Just two minutes later, Moo Galbus was played into the left side of the box. She took one touch before firing a low shot straight at Panther’s goalie Elli Johnson — the kind of shot a goalkeeper should handle without much trouble. Johnson got both gloves on it, but couldn’t keep it from spilling loose. It fell right into Incorvaia’s lap, staring at an open net. Her sprint slowed into a jog as she calmly tapped the ball across the line, granting Syracuse a 1-0 lead — this time for certain.
The goal gave Syracuse an early reward for the pressure it created in the opening minutes — six shots to Pitt’s none through the first 20. But more importantly, it was Incorvaia’s second chance of the night. One that finally counted.
In the 66th minute, the Orange looked to double their lead. Incorvaia stood over a free kick on the left side of Pitt’s final third, just a few feet away from the giant orange “S” painted on the pitch. She raised her hand, signaling to her teammates it was time to make their runs in the box.
Croyle read the curling ball perfectly, rising above Johnson to get her head on the delivery. The ball sailed toward a vacant net and hit the crossbar. The rebound fell to Emery Streets, who tried to bury it before Pitt could recover, but Sophie Rourke was already there. Rourke threw her body in front of the shot on the goal line, blocking it before scrambling to clear the danger. Adams challenged the play, but after review, officials ruled the ball hadn’t crossed the goal line.
Syracuse came within inches of doubling its lead. Then, just over a minute later, the Panthers erased SU’s advantage.
A corner kick fell loose near the top of the box before Desiree Reed floated a shot over Maya Naimoli and into the net. The Orange’s 1-0 lead was gone. But Syracuse didn’t have much time to dwell on it.
“We were not just working for a tie,” Stephens-Martin said. “We wanted the win.”
Three minutes remained when Syracuse earned another free kick from an all-too-familiar spot on the left side of the field. Incorvaia stepped over it again. Same spot. Same delivery. Another chance.
She whipped another curling ball into the box, and once again Croyle got on the end of it with her head. This time, the ball slipped through the crowd and toward the back post. Stephens-Martin was there. She one-timed the loose ball low into the far corner, putting Syracuse back in front for good, 2-1.
“We just kept pushing at it and got the result we wanted,” Incorvaia said. “It’s just about resilience as a team.”
As a kid, you learn the ball doesn’t lie. A goal either counts or it doesn’t. A shot either goes in or it doesn’t. Thursday night, the ball gave Abby Incorvaia another chance.
Her first goal vanished. Her second gave Syracuse the lead. Her first free kick nearly doubled it. Her second assisted the winner. After five games of waiting for something to finally go Syracuse’s way, the Orange got their chance.
They didn’t waste it.
