SU opens season with 5-0 shutout victory over Charleston Southern
Syracuse started its season on the right foot on Friday with a 5-0 thrashing of Charleston Southern, as it looks to reverse its recent subpar seasons. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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For the first 18 starts of her Syracuse career, Anna Croyle was deployed out of position.
Last season, SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams desperately sought to replace the stability provided by graduated defenders Grace Gillard and Zoe van de Cloot. Croyle — then a freshman — had experience playing center back, and her 5-foot-10 frame made her an optimal fit to help anchor Syracuse’s backline. She started all 18 of SU’s contests on defense, scoring zero goals in 1,566 minutes.
But she was a defensive midfielder by trade. At Pennridge High School (Pennsylvania), she made a name for herself in that role, earning a plethora of honors across four years — highlighted by a Player of the Year selection from The Reporter, a local newspaper based in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
Croyle wouldn’t return to her roots until her 19th collegiate start. On Friday against Charleston Southern, the Orange debuted a new 3-5-2 formation, with Croyle in midfield. Back in her element, it took her just nine minutes to score SU’s first goal of the season.
After a corner kick from Gabby Wisbeck, the ball sputtered out to midfield captain Ashley Rauch, who served an acrobatic cross back into the box. The picturesque ball met Croyle’s head, who knocked the ball into the net to give Syracuse (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast) a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a dominant 5-0 victory over Charleston Southern (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Big South). Rauch notched five points, tacking on two scores to her aforementioned assist.
“Getting five goals in the first half is something special,” Adams said. “I think once we settled into the game, our forwards’ dynamic runs really opened up space, and we were able to do a lot more.”
Initially, the Orange had to wait to claim the victory. On Thursday morning, travel issues among the Charleston Southern contingent moved SU’s season opener from 7 p.m. that night to 1 p.m. the following afternoon.
But the delay didn’t affect Syracuse. Charleston Southern appeared jet-lagged, if anything, while the Orange seemed determined to make up for lost time.
Anchoring SU’s midfield, Rauch kept her foot on the gas, seeking to manufacture offensive opportunities with a suffocating press. Eleven minutes after she assisted Croyle’s first career goal, Rauch came crashing in on Buccaneers’ goalkeeper Avery Mason, who had lackadaisically received a pass in front of the net.
The Orange captain calmly nicked the ball off of Mason’s feet. Her shot trickled into the net uncontested, extending Syracuse’s advantage to 2-0.
Soon after, Mia Klammer — making her Syracuse debut after missing all of 2024 with an injury — drew a foul in the box, handing the Orange their first penalty opportunity of the season.
Thirty-nine seconds had elapsed since SU’s second goal. After Klammer’s foul, Rauch stepped to the penalty spot and calmly slotted her shot past Mason to make it 3-0 Syracuse.
Meanwhile, Orange goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch remained unbothered in net. A new-look SU backline of two freshmen — Jasmine Nixon and Bree Bridges — paired with Penn State transfer Natalie Magnotta stifled the Buccaneers. The unit was akin to an unsolvable cryptogram for CSU’s attack, which failed to register a shot on goal in the first half.
“I thought our distance between our lines defensively was really good,” Adams said. “I love the way we’re focusing on our rest defense and just making sure we’re organized when the ball is in front of us.”
It was only a matter of time before Klammer got on the board. The St. Rose transfer was one of the most decorated players in Division II history, winning D-II Player of the Year in 2023 after leading the nation with 53 points. Though the Buccaneers limited her best chance with the aforementioned foul, it would’ve been naive to think she wouldn’t find herself in an even better scoring position eventually.
Bombing down the right wing just 26 minutes into the game, SU midfielder Julia Arbelaez fired a perfectly-placed cross into the box. The fact that it managed to meet Syracuse’s most lethal finisher at the back post was just a touch of good fortune for the freshman.
With an increasingly insurmountable four-goal lead, a season-opening win was all but done and dusted for the Orange.
Heading into 2025, Adams chose to replenish her squad with an influx of youth, eschewing transfer recruitment with the exception of Magnotta. In a way, though, the return of injury-addled veteran leaders such as Klammer, Emma Klein and Kendyl Lauher — all of whom missed 2024 due to injury — could be just as valuable as an upperclassman addition from another program.
Syracuse is yet to reach the brutality of Atlantic Coast Conference play, where the effectiveness of Adams’ roster-building strategy will truly be tested. After starting 2024 with a sterling 6-1-1 nonconference record, SU slumped to a paltry 0-9-1 mark in conference contests. For Adams, the goal is undoubtedly to avoid that same fate for a second consecutive season.
Only time will tell if her gambit will work. But for now, it’s hard to imagine a better start to Syracuse’s season than its triumphant, 5-0 thrashing in the comforts of SU Soccer Stadium.
“We really stuck to our identity and played a complete game,” Adams said. “This team is special, and they are loving it right now and playing so dang hard.”
