Stony Brook upends No. 4 Orange with scoring onslaught
Stony Brook upends No. 4 SU with scoring onslaught
Not many losses come tougher than No. 4 Syracuse’s 17-16 home defeat against No. 12 Stony Brook. The two ranked heavyweights battled Monday until the final whistle in a game dominated by flashes of unstoppable offense.
“We didn’t stick to our gameplan,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “They were hungry and played the role of the underdog.”
Syracuse midfielder Mary Rahal set the offensive tempo early with back to back goals as ‘Cuse found themselves up 6-2 in the early going. Stony Brook went 15 minutes without an answer, yet foul trouble for the Orange allowed the visitors to get back in the game. The Seawolves hit on three of their four free position shot attempts and both teams went to the locker room at halftime with seven points on the board.
A momentum swing came midway in the second half as the Orange saw a tied game at the half turn into a seven-point advantage for Stony Brook.
“We didn’t show up in the second half,” attacker Emily Hawryschuk said.
Like the Seawolves in the first half, Syracuse went 15 minutes without a goal and looked dead in the water until Gait called a timeout with the score 16-9.
“There’s plenty of time left in the game,” Gait told his team during the break. “We’re never out of it”.
The result was a comeback effort for the Orange that saw senior Emily Hawryschuk net 4 goals in the game’s final 1o minutes. Syracuse stormed back, with Rahal’s third goal making it a one-score game heading into the final minute.
Stony Brook won the draw and controlled until the clock ran out, leading the Seawolves to storm the field in celebration while the home team could only look on and watch.
With hopes for the first women’s national title, some fans may worry losses like this can be detrimental to the squad’s rankings and impact post-season rankings. But sophomore attack Megan Carney said she is not too worried about where the Orange are ranked at the moment.
“Right now, it’s just a number and what matters is where we end up in May,” Carney said.
The Orange look to rebound this Saturday against Albany in what will be their third straight home game in the Carrier Dome to start the season.
is a contributor to The NewsHouse.
is a contributor to The NewsHouse.
