At the 36-minute mark of the second half, Syracuse midfielder Alyscha Mottershead sent a pass into the box toward forward Erin Simon, who waited near the far post. Simon headed the ball into the hands of the diving Albany goalkeeper Jackie Ubert.

SU players believed the ball crossed the goal line. The linesman called no goal.

A frustrating evening for the Orange, who outshot visiting Albany 22-6, concluded in a 1-1 draw in front of 453 at SU soccer Stadium Friday. Sophomore Hanna Strong scored her first career goal in the first half, but the Orange (1-0-1) couldn’t extend its lead and had to settle for the tie.

“It was a dominant performance,” SU head coach Phil Wheddon said. “To have 20 shots and 13 corner kicks and they had six shots and zero corner kicks, it just shows you the attacking power we put out there today.

“Having said that, it does us no good if we don’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

Syracuse dominated ball possession and created plenty of scoring opportunities. Mottershead and fellow midfieldersRosina Callisto, Jackie Firenze made it difficult for the Great Danes to bring the ball across midfield, and the Orange controlled the game.

SU attacked along the right side much of the night offensively.

Freshman right back Taylor Haenlin sent lead passes to Alexis Koval, and although many were cleared by Albany defenders, they set up time in the offensive zone. Koval’s quick footwork set up several scoring opportunities.

One shot was saved by Ubert, another was called back for offsides.

Still, Syracuse stayed aggressive in the offensive zone and it paid off with just over 15 minutes left in the first half.

Strong and senior forward Jenna Rickan entered the game with 17 minutes left in the half. The duo made an immediate impact.

SU worked a designed play from the sideline. Haenlin threw a pass into the box that skimmed the top of Strong’s head, which Rickan headed down and Strong chest volleyed it into the net to put the Orange up 1-0.

“I came on and I knew I had to bring energy,” Strong said. “We’ve practiced those plays with Taylor’s long throw and I knew where I had to be and I was able to rebound it in.”

Syracuse held the one-goal lead at halftime after keeping the Great Danes from taking a single shot in the first 45 minutes.

The play slowed down in the second half, and Albany gained more and more chances. SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel wasn’t truly tested, but she turned away the shots that came her way early in the half.

SU controlled the tempo as it kept the advantage. Then came the controversial non-goal call early in the second half.

“Unfortunately through the whole scramble the linesman didn’t see it. But we all tried to scream and make sure he was aware of it,” Mottershead said. “Going forward I guess we can’t rely on those close calls and put a few more opportunities away next time.”

The call changed the momentum of the game.

Albany’s Aubrey VanGorder had a shot sail wide and another saved with 19 minutes to play in the match. Minutes later, Great Danes forward Regina Nowicki finally broke through with a goal to tie the score at 1-1.

The match went to overtime and neither team managed the decisive score in the 20 minutes of extra time.

“Unfortunately it didn’t happen for us today. But maybe we can get it done earlier in the game so we don’t have to leave it until overtime,” Mottershead said.

Published on August 24, 2012 at 11:08 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu