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In Syracuse’s final regular-season game of the season, it was knotted in a scoreless tie against Boston College with just over a minute to play. Both schools had struggled to find opportunities and couldn’t take advantage when those chances did arise. The Atlantic Coast Conference clash appeared destined for overtime. As a last-ditch effort to prevent the extra period, the Eagles forced their fourth penalty corner of the game and first since the second quarter.

Martina Giacchino had the look she wanted. The midfielder fired one toward the goal, but Louise Pert got down low to swipe the ball away from the net. The senior goaltender had what appeared to be her most clutch play of the season.

Instead, the ball found its way to a wide-open Madelieve Drion. The sophomore tapped one past Pert, who couldn’t recover in time. The Eagles found the back of the net, and that was all that was needed in the team’s 1-0 shutout win against the Orange.

“Defensive discipline and composure is a huge element in our game,” SU head coach Lynn Farquhar said. “It’s something we could have been stronger in at that moment.”

The last-minute goal stunned No. 12 Syracuse (12-5, 4-4 ACC) in its 1-0 loss to No. 9 Boston College (12-5, 6-2 ACC). The shutout marked the fourth time in their five losses that the Orange have been shutout this season.

Farquhar’s team struggled mightily on offense. Willemijn Boogert had a golden opportunity to cash in early. After getting inside the inner circle, it was a one-on-one between her and goalie Charlotte Kramer. Boogert fired, but Kramer displayed her quick reflexes and got her leg pad to block the shot.

SU had transition chances throughout the match, but it couldn’t get inside the arc. The Orange’s best offense has been on penalty corners. Yet, they couldn’t force a penalty corner opportunity of their own until more than halfway through the final frame. Time and time again, the Eagles put their foot down on the edge of the arc and refused to give up any ground. This led Syracuse to go the entire second and third quarters without tallying a shot attempt.

“There were tremendous opportunities in the first quarter,” Farquhar said. “We were up numbers going into the circle at speed. You don’t get much better than that.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, SU got its first penalty corner of the contest. However, Bo van Kempen barely even got the opportunity to convert.

On the first penalty corner attempt, the trapper made an unforced error. The ball couldn’t be corralled on the inbounds pass. The play immediately broke down. Luckily for van Kempen and company, SU was awarded a second chance at the penalty corner. This time, after the insertion and trap were executed, van Kempen supplied the power and technique she practices on an everyday basis, but Kramer made the save for Boston College.

Farquhar’s team forced two more penalty corners less than a minute later, but the same self-inflicted error occurred. The insertion was not handled properly on both attempts. On four penalty corners, van Kempen got one shot off.

“It’s the small details,” Farquar said. “At this time of the year so much of it is mental. We’ve got to be able to fight and bring the ownership of the tempo to the table.”

For most of the match, Syracuse played stout defense. Pert recorded four saves and SU’s defense spoiled multiple looks by the Eagles. In the span that Syracuse didn’t get a single shot off, BC only tallied one. Still, stout wasn’t enough to seal the deal. The Orange’s defense had to be perfect. They were for 59 minutes but not for 60.

“(For most of the game), we stayed disciplined,” Farquhar said. “We were not diving in. We have speed … we were using that to our advantage.”

As the regular season comes to a close, Syracuse has its sights set on next week for the ACC tournament. The quarterfinals kick off on Tuesday with the matchups yet to be revealed.

Heading into the conference tournament next week, SU will look to play more aggressively, so it can force more penalty corner opportunities. If it can’t, it could be a short week because as seen on Friday night, the defense can be stellar, but the offense hasn’t consistently supported it far too often this season.

“We have to show up,” Farquhar said. “We can move the ball like we did in the first half. We have to be able to finish.”

Published on November 1, 2024 at 8:08 pm