Bridget Looney took her place next to Liz Hogan at the press table, clapped then patted Hogan’s shoulder, and Hogan started laughing.

She had earned the right.

Hogan, Syracuse women’s lacrosse team goalkeeper, had helped her team survive. So this was relief, the afterthought of the Orange’s 14-13 victory Saturday that came down to the wire. In 19 seconds, Hogan stole Notre Dame’s hope of rallying back from a 10-goal first-half deficit at the Carrier Dome before a crowd of 785.

‘A tale of two halves,’ said head coach Gary Gait. ‘We knew they weren’t going to give up.’

In those 19 seconds, a No. 9 Syracuse (10-3 overall, 5-1 Big East) team that was spiraling in rank gave proof it belonged with the like of the No. 8 Fighting Irish (11-3, 4-2) – within the top ten. That it could still stand with the elite.

That also could have been said of the first 20 minutes, when the Orange was immaculate. It started 36 seconds in, when attack Halley Quillinan marched up the middle of the field for the season’s quickest goal.

Eleven more flashed by within that 20 minute span.

Amid all the premature claps and pats and cheers, the Orange found confidence. Up two goals three minutes into the first half, midfielder Looney caught a ball midair, and in a fluid motion, swung and scored. Looney fell back on to FieldTurf with two grasped fists, still pumping in the air.

Nothing could have gone wrong.

When Notre Dame’s veteran defender Rachel Guerrera tripped up Katie Rowan, she still scored. She scored a game-high four goals.

Through it all, Hogan stood in the backfield looking on, tested with only 11 shots in the first half. Too easy.

Only with 19 seconds left would Hogan wish she had more saves. She finished with eight saves against 30 shots by the Irish.

‘I made many mistakes, I definitely own up to that’ Hogan said. ‘We lost composure.’After a tally of 11 goals, it was the offense that disappeared. The clock kept running, because at any point when a team leads by 10, the clock always runs. Everything seemed favorable, nothing could go wrong and the Orange had plenty of confidence.

Then the hubris caught up with them, when the Orange no longer found the need to score. At one point, Gait became vocal and told Quillinan to return to her free position spot – not to argue with the referees – and ‘settle.’ Moments later, Notre Dame’s Jillian Byers set up and scored.

Then, slowly, through the course of the remaining 40 minutes, the Notre Dame’s goals began to add.

‘It’s a long game,’ midfielder Christina Dove said. ‘I knew they were gonna come back. We weren’t gonna beat them by that much.’

What started in the first half with an 11-1 run for the Orange turned into a 10-2 Notre Dame run in 23 minutes. The possibility of a comeback crept into reality, until it reached a tipping point.

Byers received the ball at the 35-yard line and raced three defenders to Hogan’s net. There, Byers pulled off a shot while being knocked down and scored for the third time Saturday. She had three goals and one assist because her team needed them, because she refused to give up.

With 30 seconds left, the Irish found themselves down only a goal with the ball. Gait remained confident.

‘I have a lot of confidence in Liz,’ Gait said. ‘I knew she was gonna come up with a big save. …You just need to believe her.’

Gait was right. With 30 seconds left, Hogan caught a ball in plain sight following an SU timeout and erased 40 minutes of faulty play with one long lob out to the midfield.

Afterward, Hogan sat next to Looney and said to reporters: ‘If you think you’ll save it, you’ll save it.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on April 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm