Syracuse opens ACC play with 1-1 draw against SMU
In its first ACC game of the season, Syracuse nearly snapped a conference winless streak, but the Orange settled for a 1-1 draw with SMU. Zoe Xixis | Contributing Photographer
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There’s nothing more defining in sports than the first true test — when a team shows its grit. Every person can determine when a squad has reached that point. For some, it’s right away. For a Syracuse team yearning to compete with the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference — often regarded as the top conference in the nation — it’s non-negotiable. The Orange weren’t there.
SU showed steady improvement through its nonconference slate, capped by a 3-0 shutout of Cornell. Excluding routs of Charleston Southern and Canisius, the Orange notched their most goals since Sept. 8, 2024, while their defense recorded yet another clean sheet. But calling it a test would be an overstatement. A practice exam is more appropriate.
In the ACC, that doesn’t exist.
SU opened conference play Thursday with an itch. It hadn’t won an ACC match since 2022. It’s hard to achieve something that feels so unfamiliar. The Orange were 14-94-12 against ACC opponents. But against SMU, the drought nearly ended.
After conceding first, Vita Naihin’s equalizer with just over a minute left in the first half reignited SU’s hope. Yet a scoreless final 45 minutes followed, and Syracuse (4-1-4, 0-0-1 ACC) had to settle for a 1-1 draw with SMU (5-2-1, 0-0-1 ACC).
“I think it’s an unfortunate result,” SU head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said postgame. “I think we played well enough to get the win, but I’m super proud of them for the effort and what they put in.”
There’s more than one reason Syracuse hasn’t been able to pick up a conference win in several years. It’s faced some of the nation’s toughest opponents. It hasn’t finished matches and has struggled to score goals. But this is the year Adams thinks could be different.
The Orange carried a 4-1-3 record into conference play and were anchored by an entirely new backline, just one part of Adams’ latest 3-5-2 formation. SU’s graduate students, Emma Klein and Ashley Rauch, decided to return to the team to “rebuild the program,” Rauch said. Optimism grew.
Thursday, the optimism was apparent.
Syracuse dominated the ball in the game’s first few minutes. The Orange had already recorded three throw-ins within the first three minutes after SMU repeatedly cleared the ball toward the sideline under pressure.
A minute later, off a throw-in from Mia Klammer on the left sideline, Rauch created SU’s first real scoring chance. Her shot skied over the goal, but the Orange were on the attack, and they didn’t let up.
With 37:12 to play, SMU defender Hali Hartman played a routine pass back to goalkeeper Aubrey Brown before drifting upfield. That lapse nearly cost the Mustangs. Klammer pounced, almost stealing a goal before colliding with Brown. The Mustangs recovered and cleared the danger.
As the first half continued, SU’s momentum began to fade. It was SMU’s turn.
With the clock dwindling to 20 minutes remaining in the opening half, Anna Croyle didn’t see Mustangs midfielder Zoe Parkhurst draping in on her. Croyle routinely dribbled upfield, but Parkhurst stripped her and set up forward Liz Eddy for a shot, which she pushed just high.
“Teams are having to go long on us or around us, and we’re just doing a good job shutting them down,” Adams said.
After 12 minutes of immense physicality, which saw Rauch nearly put the Orange on the board with a free kick, the Mustangs finally emerged.
The ball bounced around the 18-yard box multiple times. First, forward Nyah Rose pinned Shea Vanderbosch on the ground. Natalie Magnotta attempted to clear the ball, but after Vanderbosch’s dive, midfielder Lydia Ungashick was in the right place at the right time to put the ball in the back of the net.
Syracuse opened its 2024 ACC slate with a matchup at SMU. Against the Mustangs, then a brand new member to the conference, SU had little expectations. It ended up falling 4-1 after the Mustangs jumped on the board first. Thursday looked like deja vu.
But minutes after Ungashick’s score, it was back to square one.
Julia Coval sparked the attack, feeding Julia Arbelaez down the left channel. The freshman took one touch and whipped a cross into a crowded box. Klammer raced in, while Naihin battled hip-to-hip with SMU’s Libby Jannereth. Naihin won it, redirecting the ball off her hip past Brown’s diving reach and into the bottom-right corner.
“They’re not scared of anybody. They’re not scared of the past,” Adams said. “It’s a brand new team. We’re hard to break down.”
As the half closed, Syracuse had the momentum. But a halftime break wasn’t what the Orange needed. They came out of the intermission slower. They couldn’t find the finisher.
A diving Brown saved Klein’s shot with 22 minutes to play. Moments later, Klammer dribbled past SMU’s Sydney Japic and fired another shot, again denied by the Mustang keeper.
SMU remained on the defensive end, but Syracuse couldn’t put any of its eight second-half shots past Brown.
Despite holding SMU relatively silent down the stretch, the story remains the same for Syracuse. The drought continues.
“We all feel it this year,” Rauch said postgame. “We know a (win) is coming.”
