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In the 32nd minute of Syracuse’s matchup against Duke, Blue Devils midfielder Delaney Graham worked up to the left sideline as she dribbled into Syracuse’s zone. She stepped to her right past a Syracuse defender and sent the ball to midfielder Grace Watkins at the sideline.

Defender Kylen Grant was trailing Watkins as she cut towards midfield and wound her leg back for a shot. Grant lunged forward and the ball bounced off her leg to block the shot. Head coach Nicky Adams said the Orange wanted to direct Duke’s offense away from the sideline.

“We were trying to force them centrally into our midfield,” Adams said. “When they did play the ball in, we were right there.”

Syracuse (7-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) fell to Duke (6-2, 1-1 ACC) 1-0 due to a timely goal in the final two minutes of the game. It was the team’s first loss in almost four weeks and it came during the Orange’s first conference game of the year. SU’s defense stepped up on Friday as they held the No. 3 ranked team in the nation to just one goal.

The Orange only let Duke get off one shot in the first thirty minutes of the game. The Blue Devils’ next recorded shot ricocheted off Grant’s leg. The Blue Devils third and final shot of the first half came in the 41st minute.

The score was sparked by midfielder Sophie Jones, who got past Emma Klein at midfield and delivered a pass to Watkins in the middle of the Syracuse zone. Watkins accelerated around Jenna Tivnan, but Grace Gillard poked the ball out.

Duke regained control before Delaney Graham fielded an arcing pass in the center of the Orange’s goalie box. Graham cut to her left and kicked the ball out of bounds over the crossbar.

The Blue Devils made five substitutions in the first half while Syracuse only made one. Although the Orange dominated the first half and led in shots and shots on goal, the Blue Devils flipped the script, outshooting the Orange 11-1 in the second frame. Adams said the lack of substitutions may have contributed to her team losing steam in late parts of the matchup.

“I think we got a little tired towards the end,” Adams said. “I didn’t make a lot of substitutions in the first half because our rhythm was so good I didn’t want to interrupt it.”

Adams added that she anticipated Duke coming out harder in the second half, saying she could hear its coaches yelling at the players in the locker room. In the 48th minute, the two teams tangled up at the top of Syracuse’s goal box until Duke stretched to its left. Duke forward Michelle Cooper launched a shot to her right, but an Orange defender blocked it toward the right of the goal.

This set up a corner kick on the right side of the goal, but Erin Flurey headed a bending ball in the center of the goal box. Duke’s Devin Lynch got control of the ball before chipping a shot that Shea Vanderbosch saved at the right goal post.

A little over twenty minutes later, Cooper received a ball at the top of Syracuse’s zone. She booted the ball just right of the goal and out. Vanderbosch was out of position and relieved to see the shot go off-target.

A minute after that, Cooper connected on a header off a deep cross. Vanderbosch jumped up for the save, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.

Duke started to get more shots off in the last 15 minutes of the game. In the 81st minute, Duke hit a header off a cross from the left of the sixy-yard box. The ball went to Vanderbosch and into the back of the net.

But the referee lifted a flag in the air. Gillard said Syracuse had a feeling the play was offside, but it was still shocking.

The Orange poked out the ball from the set piece on a Duke corner, but Jones regained possession for the Blue Devils. She sent a short pass to Mackenzie Pluck, who delivered a cross from the right corner that went to Vanderbosch. Maggie Graham headed the ball into the back of the net to give Duke the lead.

Syracuse finished the game behind in shots and shots on goal. This was its lowest shot output of the season, with not even half as many as its second-worst performance. The Orange couldn’t confuse Duke in the first half, and the defense made one fatal mistake.

“It stinks to lose in the last two minutes,” Adams said. “It’s a stinger.”

Published on September 17, 2022 at 12:14 am

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu