Syracuse women’s soccer beats St. Bonaventure 3-0
SU women’s soccer beats Bonnies 3-0
Three players score for the Orange in win before the game ends early due to a player injury.
A scary sight overshadowed Syracuse women’s soccer Senior Day match against St. Bonaventure Sunday.
Sophomore forward Moo Galbus was stretchered off the field after a hard tackle that swept her off the ground into a hard landing. After a 30-minute pause of play, fans at SU Soccer Stadium watched quietly as the ambulance crew delicately handled Galbus.
After consultation with Head Coach Nicky Adams, the game ended prematurely with a score of 3-0 in favor of the Orange.
Before Galbus’ injury, the Orange were comfortably controlling the game against the Bonnies.
The match began slowly, with sloppy play from both sides leading to sparse scoring opportunities in the first quarter of the match.
Any creative moves were snuffed out before they could pose any real threat. An inventive backheel by Anna Rupert to fellow junior Maya McDermott looked promising, but McDermott lost the ball soon after.
However, a foul by St. Bonaventure’s Mika Marolly led to the first goal of the contest.
Marolly committed the foul just wide of the Bonnies’ 18-yard box. Redshirt sophomore Ava Uribe stood over the ball, looking into the mostly empty box. The penalty area was not empty for long, though.
In a rehearsed set piece play, a swarm of Orange players crashed into the box as Uribe began her runup. Graduate defender Kate Murphy found herself completely unmarked, and Uribe’s ball across the floor fell right into her path.
“We saw that they were leaving areas wide open, so that was 100% planned. She did way better today than she did in practice” Thrasher Adams joked. “She was in the right spot and nailed it.”
A VAR review was held following the goal, but ultimately, referee Mark Buda determined that the goal would stand. It was Murphy’s first goal since the 2022 season, where she scored against Lafayette.
After Murphy’s goal, SU continued to apply pressure.
Freshman Vita Naihin came on for McDermott with less than 15 minutes to play in the half. Just under two minutes later, she had found the Orange’s second goal.
Galbus got the ball just inside St. Bonaventure’s half, dribbled the ball wide, and sent a low ball across the box. A sliding Naihin got to the ball first and rolled it into the net. The Senior Day stage saw the freshman score her first collegiate goal.
The second half began with the advent of redshirt Junior Erin Fleury. The forward was through on goal, but hit the ball right into the approaching Chiara Gottinger. Minutes later, Fleury was again threatening thanks to a through-ball from Uribe that sliced through the Bonnies’ defense.
Charging in from the left wing, Fleury once again hit the ball at Gottinger, but the rebound fell into the stumbling forward’s path and ricocheted into the net, giving SU its third of the match and the Orange’s top goal scorer from a year ago her second goal of the season.
The rest of the half proved to be more of the same: the Orange continued to control possession and held the lion’s share of opportunities.
After a crowded St. Bonaventure penalty area cleared out, just a few minutes later, only one person was left in the box. SU forward Galbus was tackled aggressively from below and lifted from her feet during play. A few seconds later, she was seen lying motionless on the field as teammates, then medical staff gathered around her.
Syracuse Athletics declined to comment on Galbus’ injury after the game, but said they will comment on the matter at a later time.
The game ended as the ambulance pulled away with the two teams agreeing to end early.
The Orange wrapped up non-conference play against the Bonnies, and now begin the tougher part of their schedule.
“Everybody knows the ACC is the best conference in women’s soccer, and we know it’s not going to be easy but guess what? We’re a brand new Syracuse,” Thrasher Adams said.
SU kicks off ACC play with an away match against Southern Methodist University on Thursday. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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