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Kate Murphy curved a corner kick through the air in the 16th minute of Syracuse’s third match of the season. The ball tailed high off the left foot of Murphy and past a flurry of skyward eyes before landing in the bottom left corner of the goal. The team rallied around the junior defender to celebrate their first goal in over 110 minutes. That was Murphy’s first ever goal with the Orange. The whole team was happy to see Murphy score, especially coming after Sunday afternoon’s 6-0 loss against UConn.

“It was awesome,” sophomore Ashley Rauch said about Murphy’s goal. “I mean obviously that’s not what we plan to do, but it was really cool to see Murph score because she usually doesn’t. It really set the tone.”

Murphy was all over the field for Syracuse (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) in its third non-conference win. Tonight, the Orange won by a score of 4-1 against Lafayette (0-3, 0-0 Patriot League), and Murphy was involved in three of those scoring plays. She racked up an assist, a goal and multiple defensive stops in her two-way performance. The junior made multiple defensive stops throughout the match, patrolling the far corners of the field. This performance from the junior defender has impressed SU head coach Nicky Adams.

“Every year she has gotten better. She had a tremendous spring, came in ready to go and has earned a starting spot. She’s feeling really confident and she’s defending well because she’s so calm, cool and collected on the ball,” Adams said.

Murphy’s dominant offensive performance continued later in the first half. The second goal of the game was also the product of a corner kick when Adams called upon Murphy in the 31st minute. This one had a similar trajectory, but more defenders, as the Leopards were expecting another long kick. This time, SU forward Erin Flurey timed her jump perfectly and headed the ball into the net, giving the Orange a 2-0 lead.

Right before halftime, Murphy once again got involved with scoring. With two minutes left in the half, Lafayette had possession in SU territory. Murphy calmly tapped the ball away from the attacker after anticipating their juke attempt before seeing an open Maya McDermott down the field. She booted it into enemy territory where McDermott caught the ball in stride and drove to the net. Just before reaching the goalie, she gave the ball up to a hard-cutting Pauline Machtens who found the back of the net easily. The lead rose to 3-0 with 1:33 left in the half. 

All three of these goals were significant for Adams because they were good setups that led to easier shots, which is something that she’s been pushing in practice. The team has ended every training session with 20-30 minutes of set training, Adams said. So, two corner kicks and an assisted breakaway helped Adams see the signs of progress Syracuse has made in the young season.

“I think it was just a moment when we could really take a breath again,” Adams said of the first goal. “Last Sunday was tough. I don’t think we necessarily played hard when you look at the stats… so I think just getting that goal helped get us back on track.”

 

Published on August 26, 2022 at 12:27 am

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu