Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

With the first half coming to a close, frustration was mounting for Lafayette’s offense. The Leopards had only managed to get off two shots, which were both in the opening minutes of the game.

But following a sneaky cross pass into the heart of Syracuse’s defense, Lafayette was eyeing the net. As the Lafayette player wound up her leg to send another ball deeper into Orange territory, midfielder Ashley Rauch wedged her ankle in front of the ball. Rauch quickly passed the ball back to her defenders and Emma Klein drilled the ball about 50 yards for a clear.

Syracuse (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) put up a stifling defensive performance in a 4-1 win over Lafayette (0-3, 0-0 Patriot League) on Thursday night. The Leopards got off only four shots the entire game. Head coach Nicky Adams said her team’s ability to dominate time of possession allowed the Orange to really slow down Lafayette’s attack.

“All week long we worked on that: keeping the ball, getting our midfielders closer, getting our forwards closer, and funneling to the goal instead of having such a huge wide formation,” Adams said.

Syracuse scored the first goal with a Kate Murphy corner kick that orbited past Leopard goalkeeper Natalie Neumann. Neumann mistimed her dive, and the ball fell into the net.

Just 15 minutes later, Murphy once again set up in the corner. The ball had the same bend as the first goal, but Neumann saw it coming. Still, SU forward Erin Flurey connected on a header that shot over the goalkeeper and trickled into the net to put Syracuse up by two.

Lafayette pressed harder to move the ball upfield for a goal. Syracuse’s defense remained patient though and Rauch found herself in several pass lanes towards the end of the first half. She said the defensive performance helped get the offense going.

“Everyone was putting in so much effort and so much work defensively that it was a lot easier to play with each other, especially in midfield,” Rauch said. “Being strong defensively made it easier offensively to go forward and score goals.”

Not long after Rauch intercepted a few passes in a row, Syracuse put in its third goal of the night. In the 44th minute, Maya McDermott sent a cross through several defenders right to Pauline Machtens. Machtens delivered a hard shot into the top right corner of the goal.

Lafayette opened up the second half with some pace on offense. Sara Oswald took control of a perfect lead pass along the left sideline. She then crossed the ball to the opposite side of the goal box, but defender Grace Gillard headed the ball out to prevent a scoring opportunity.

The Leopards put some pressure on freshman goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch as they had multiple defenders run up to her when she reeled in a ball. In the beginning of the second half, a wild Lafayette pass ended up in her hands.

Two Leopard defenders closed in and Vanderbosch had to make a quick decision. She rolled the ball to her right side and with a short sequence of passes, the action was back in Lafayette’s zone.

In the 65th minute, Rauch made a textbook lead pass between two defenders which Anna Rupert took in stride. Rupert faked a cut to her left but went right, sending the ball on a line to the right side of the goal.

Even when the Leopards got on the scoreboard, it didn’t come from a Lafayette shot on goal. Syracuse scored on its own net after the Leopards shot a ball that ricocheted off a defender into the goal.

Syracuse peppered the net with shots against Lafayette, getting off 25 and putting 10 of them on target. Murphy had an exceptional performance, with one corner kick resulting in a score and another setting up Flurey for a header. Still, the Orange’s smothering defense put the game out of reach.

“Defending our home turf is one of this team’s ultimate goals,” Adams said. “These non-conference games are going to prepare us for the conference games. I’m already looking forward to the next one.”

Published on August 26, 2022 at 12:31 am

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu