Sports SUmmary: Syracuse women’s soccer fights back to tie Clemson Tigers 1-1

Sports SUmmary: Syracuse women's soccer ties Clemson Tigers 1-1

Jenna Tivnan scores a scrappy header for the tying goal.

Story by Alec Sturm

Published: October 15, 2022

The Orange’s golden year continued Friday night with a 1-1 tie against fellow ACC school Clemson. After an early score from the Tigers, the Orange knotted up the score with some late heroics from defender Jenna Tivnan.

Even with an 8-5-2 record on the year, the energy surrounding Syracuse women’s soccer has never been higher.

Midway through head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams’s postgame press conference, the noise coming from the Orange’s locker room became raucous. Music was playing, players were cheering and Adams couldn’t help but comment.

“You can hear it, right? This is so awesome, and this is them all the time,” Adams said. “Just the energy they bring, I think, is showing people that they need to be a part of it. It’s awesome.”

As Syracuse fifth-year and captain Tivnan put it, “Oh, the vibes are high.”

“As a 23-year-old on a team with a lot of 18- and 19-year-olds, sometimes the vibes are too high, you know what I mean?” Tivnan said. “No, they’re a lot, and they’re great energy. Especially for a team that’s building, we need that energy.”

In the 12th minute, Syracuse forward Blue Ellis had a good shot at the goal off of a rebound. She couldn’t connect, but it still resulted in a corner kick for the Orange.

Clemson then scored in the 16th minute after consistently moving the ball and generating pressure in the middle of the floor in front of the goal.

Syracuse was able to generate back-to-back shots in the 27th and 28th minutes, as forwards Chelsea Domond, Pauline Machtens and Ellis navigated heavy Tiger defense.

In the 71st minute, Clemson was able to get behind the Orange in a counterattack situation. Orange goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch stepped up and out of the box for the save, but defender Kylen Grant fell to the ground after the play and had to be substituted out after an injury timeout.

Just a few minutes later, Syracuse evened the score at one goal apiece off a header from Tivnan. It came from a corner kick opportunity from defender Kate Murphy.

Murphy is one of the team’s prime corner kick takers.

“The thing about it is, we have such good weapons,” Adams said. “Jenna, specifically, is our target. But Jenna can’t be Jenna if the service is not where we need it.”

Friday night’s matchup was the first home game for the Orange in nearly three weeks, and the home crowd made the return worth it as Family Weekend kicked off.

“We’ve missed home. Playing at home is always a bonus. This year, the crowds have been tremendous. I think people are really on the bandwagon of Syracuse’s women’s soccer, and the energy — I mean, you guys can hear it,” Adams said.

Syracuse may have been celebrating a tie on Friday night, but Adams doesn’t want this team to be underestimated.

“We’re annoyed that people keep saying that Syracuse is the team to walk over,” Adams said. “People keep saying, ‘Oh, late tie, Clemson messed up.’ No, we caused them to mess up … we knew what we had to do in this game to keep winning and keep fighting.”

Orange forward Erin Flurey didn’t see the field against Clemson. Adams said that she suffered an injury against Boston College on October 6. The injury is not considered season-ending.

“She is okay, but due to protocol, we will be holding her out tonight,” Adams said. “We’re hoping to get her back starting Monday.”

The Orange will round out the back end of their schedule with a trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The game will begin at 6 p.m. and air on the ACC Network.