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Michelle Cooper, who shot six times against SU on Friday, facilitated a give-and-go down the left side in the 55th minute. What she failed to see was Grace Gillard flying in from behind to poke the ball out of bounds with a clean slide tackle. There was nothing but green ahead of the Blue Devils’ leading scorer while Gillard collected the first of multiple major defensive stops for the Orange.

In a close 1-0 loss to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke (6-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast), Syracuse (7-2, 0-1 ACC) played aggressively on defense, filtering play to the middle of the field, where Gillard was positioned. Gillard had a number of defensive stops, shocking the No. 3 team in the nation with her first half defensive dominance.

Head coach Nicky Adams said Gillard and defender Jenna Tivnan were named co-players of the game for their heavy defensive presence, especially against Cooper. 

“I thought Jenna and Gilly were very intentional with every moment they had,” Adams said. “They were not going to let (Cooper) turn. They were going to be tight, they were going to win balls, and they were going to make it extremely difficult for her. I couldn’t be more proud.” 

Cooper is a sophomore coming off a freshman season where she earned National Freshman of the Year, ACC Freshman of the Year and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team. The forward gave the SU defense constant pressure, but was contested by Gillard consistently throughout the night.

Duke attempted seven corner kicks in the second half as they began to threaten the Orange more consistently. In the 84th minute the Blue Devils lined up for their sixth corner kicks of the half, and Gillard made another big save. The ball got knocked around the penalty box before spinning off to the right side. Cooper and Gillard, the two closest players, raced to the ball while battling with their hands. Gillard reached the ball first by sliding into it, which sent it out of bounds and into the Duke bench. 

Gillard, who came over from England for her freshman year at SU, has been a staple for the Orange defense throughout the season. She has started every game and has turned in five 90-minute performances, including at Friday’s game against Duke.

Adams has been impressed with the professionalism that Gillard has displayed from a mental standpoint, adding that she’s very happy to have her for the next 3-4 years.

“I think Gilly stepping in as a freshman next to a grad student with Jenna, she deserves a lot of credit,” Adams said. “Gilly is the utmost professional. She wants to continue to learn.”

When asked about her dominant start, Gillard pointed to her relationship with Tivnan. The graduate student and freshman have created a bond on-and-off the field that has strengthened their chemistry. Although Gillard is far less experienced in U.S.-based college soccer, her professional experience in England gives Tivnan a different perspective, allowing the two to bounce off each other. 

“Jenna is a great player on and off the field and obviously her being a graduate and me just coming in, she’s got a lot more experience on me,” Gillard said. “But I think together she guides me, I help guide her, and I think the partnership that we have is pretty good.”

Gillard was all over the field against the Blue Devils. Although it may not show up in the stat sheet, Gillard saved multiple scores.

However, things got a little chippy with Cooper near the end of the match. Gillard was draped over her on defense when she got called for a foul. That led to two Duke fouls followed by another SU foul on Koby Commandant in the span of six minutes, with Gillard in the vicinity for all. After Commandant’s foul, the referee took time to tell both Gillard and Commandant that they had to stop fouling Cooper. She wasn’t fouled for the remainder of the game, although Gillard covered her tight. 

Despite the loss, Gillard said that she and Tivnan did their job defensively, which was to make it difficult for the Blue Devils’ best scorer.

“We just made sure that one of us was on her at all times,” Gillard said. “We knew where she was and we were tough and gritty and I think it paid off.”

Published on September 16, 2022 at 10:53 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu