No. 11 Orange executes four penalty corner goals, shutting out Stanford
SU shuts out Stanford with four penalty shots
A weakness became a strength as the No. 14 ranked Orange (11-2) field hockey team defeated Stanford (3-6) on Wednesday 4-0, all on penalty corner goals.
After struggling with penalty corners early in the season, Syracuse fortunes started to improve as they had gone 50% on corners in their last two home games, but on Wednesday they didn’t even have to go 50% on their corners, going 4-10, for them to be the difference in the game.
“I think that Char had some really good reads on the corner and created opportunities,” Orange head coach Ange Bradley said. “Eeefke just found her rhythm and smashed a couple of balls. I can’t wait to see that on video because they were rockets. We have been working on them, so it was good to see them focus on that.”
Forward Charlotte de Vries scored the first goal of the day and then assisted the following three goals as she moves into eighth in career goals and 15th in career points at Syracuse. Forward Quirine Comans recorded a goal and an assist. Back Eefke van den Nieuwenhof added the final two Orange goals to finish off the scoring.
“We really emphasized this week on scoring on those corners during practice and I think [we] really stepped it up with focus from the start just insert, trap, and then being able to finish, it really showed today,” van den Nieuwenhof said.
Here’s a TIP for you…
📺 – @accnetwork (https://t.co/BOuRdLBkBH)
📊 – https://t.co/WjIcD5lhOd pic.twitter.com/YdvG5JgtdD— Syracuse Field Hockey (@CuseFH) October 5, 2022
The Orange defense was stout as ever as they were able to obtain their eighth shutout of the year as both goalkeepers Brooke Borzymowski and Louise Pert received time in net. The Orange goalkeepers were not tested too much as the Orange defense only conceded two off target shots and one penalty corner for another successful performance at the back.
“I think it is the same thing, we got a little sloppy there,” Bradley said about finishing shutouts. “I mean they got across the 50 a couple of times in the final quarter and minutes, but it is just not getting greedy and sticking to what we do as a team and doing the things we do well as a team and staying within ourselves.”
The Orange are ranked third in the nation in scoring margin and a big part of that is their ability to turn defense into offense. Also, Syracuse has the fourth best offense in the country based on scoring average and leads the nation in shutouts.
“I think it is just you read the angle and you know you got to go,” Bradley said. “When we win the ball we look to go forward and can we create an attack and if we don’t feel we can you slow it down and keep it in your team. So, I think it was just our ability to play transitions was good tonight.”
📸📸📸
🍊🏑🦈 x #lygc pic.twitter.com/uMHnhEhLSV
— Syracuse Field Hockey (@CuseFH) October 6, 2022
The Orange have just five games remaining in the regular season including three ACC contests against No. 1 ranked North Carolina, No. 7 ranked Louisville, and No. 19 ranked Wake Forest.
The Orange face Cornell (6-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the J.S. Coyne Stadium where they will retire the number nine jersey for Julie Williamson. She’s the first Orange field hockey player to have their jersey retired and the first Syracuse field hockey player to be selected to Team USA.
“I am proud of the kids, they came out and had a good second half,” Bradley said. “They made some adjustments that we talked about and our ball speed is getting a little faster and we are getting more maturity in our play and they are the things we can focus in on with the team.”
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
