Syracuse women’s soccer’s back 3 hinders Virginia Tech until 85th minute
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The ball kept finding Syracuse defenders.
A foot. A body. A sliding tackle. For nearly 85 minutes, SU women’s soccer’s back three kept Virginia Tech scoreless.
Then one cross slipped through.
The switch from a 4-5-1 formation to a 3-5-2 helped Syracuse (3-5-2, 0-3-0 Atlantic Coast) stay competitive in its 1-0 loss to Virginia Tech (6-1-3, 2-0-0 ACC) Sunday at SU Soccer Stadium. Despite the Hokies outshooting SU 23-10, just six of them were on target to Syracuse’s four.
SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said the formation was initially devised to give the Orange more depth upfield, but a byproduct was their three-player backline becoming the key to keeping Virginia Tech scoreless for most of the afternoon.
“I think (the formation) benefited us, quite honestly,” Adams said. “Once we figured out the midfield, we were in a good spot.”
Oklahoma State transfer Chloe Joseph moved from the backline to midfield, where she occasionally played during SU’s 2-0 loss to Clemson Thursday. Abby Incorvaia played more of an attacking midfielder role, joining forward Farrah Stephens-Martin and giving Syracuse two pressing attackers while Joseph used her speed on the wing.
“I thought it worked well today, getting more numbers up, especially having Chloe out wide,” SU defender Bree Bridges said. “She’s a very fast, aggressive player, so I think it actually worked in our benefit today.”
After a deflated first half with limited chances for either side, things opened up in the second half. Virginia Tech started applying more pressure, with its backline well past midfield. SU’s defenders began to get tested.
In the 66th minute, a through ball was played to Eliana Salama, streaking down the left wing. She lined up a cross, and for good reason — the Hokies’ assist leader already had six this season. Bridges didn’t let her try for a seventh, sliding in with both legs and sending the ball out for a corner.
“Body on the line, find our players and just get the ball out,” Bridges said of her mentality in that moment.
The play wasn’t finished yet. Virginia Tech played the corner short, and Lilli Lubic whipped an outswinger toward the 6-yard box. The Orange’s backline swarmed it, anchored by Natalie Magnotta — who’s played every minute over the past three games after starting the season as a substitute. She got the first touch, poking a short clearance away before Stephens-Martin took the ball at the edge of the box and sent it long.
Five minutes later, the back three went right back to work. In the 71st minute, Syracuse blocked a Virginia Tech shot, and two minutes later, it got in the way again. This time, Bridges stepped in front of Lubic’s shot to keep it from reaching goalie Maya Naimoli.
“We’re limiting them to a small space, so I thought our aggression and our ability to force them out wide was very beneficial for us,” Bridges said.
That approach kept the Hokies scoreless until the 85th minute.
Virginia Tech’s Riley Karpinski slipped into space on the right wing, beating Gabby Wisbeck to a crosser’s position in the box. Wisbeck immediately flashed her hand into the air, appealing for an offside call. It never came.
Karpinski sent a low ball across the face of the goal, and somehow, it panned through everyone.
It missed every Syracuse boot. It slipped past Lubic, who ran right in front of Naimoli. And then Hannah Pachan slid in to finish the leftovers and hand VT the late 1-0 lead.
For nearly 85 minutes, Syracuse’s back three kept a Virginia Tech attack that beat then-No. 22 Georgetown off the scoreboard. The Hokies had been held scoreless just once all season entering Sunday, but Syracuse nearly doubled it.
“The back three did their job today,” Adams said. “They do what they do: block shots, getting in front, diving, sacrificing. They did well tonight.”
