Syracuse field hockey stays undefeated at home with win over Hofstra
Syracuse field hockey stays undefeated at home with win over Hofstra
Syracuse field hockey maintained its undefeated record at home (3-0) with its final game win on Sunday over Hofstra, but the Pride did not make it an easy one.
The Orange (7-1,1-0 ACC) entered the game having won its last two contests and averaging over four goals per game for the year. The Pride (3-4,0-0 CAA) also entered the contest winners of its last two games, but it only averaging a little over two goals per game on the season.
The contest was a feisty one as the unranked Pride was able to keep the No. 10 Orange off the scoreboard for over 58 minutes. Though Hofstra kept a sound defensive shape, it was helped immensely by the seven saves of Pride goalkeeper Merlijn van der Vegt. Van der Vegt was superb on the day as no shots from open play got past them.
“I think we did go down there, I think we earned a corner in maybe the first five,” Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said of the team’s sluggish start. “I think we shot it high and wide from there, I think frustration just set in.”
LO!
A stroke for the Orange and it’s a 1-0 Syracuse lead with 1:59 to play.
💻 – https://t.co/guLXQvWseG
📊 – https://t.co/WjIcD5lhOd pic.twitter.com/yOizyVV05A— Syracuse Field Hockey (@CuseFH) September 18, 2022
The Orange was finally able to break through the Pride defense when Syracuse was awarded a penalty stroke with just 1:59 left in regulation. Syracuse midfielder Laura Graziosi seeped up to take the stroke after a video referral confirmed that the call of a penalty stroke was the correct one. Graziosi fired it home into the bottom left corner just past the diving van der Vegt.
“Well I knew we needed a goal, so we could take this win home,” Graziosi said.
Although the Orange had one lone goal and did not score from open play, Syracuse was clearly the more dominant team as they made 18 shots and put nine of them on target. The Pride had just one shot and put none on target. Syracuse goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski got her seventh win of the season and participated in her fifth shutout game today, but only touched the ball three times.
“It is [was] just a matter of time we started to open them up,” Bradley said of waiting 58 minutes to score. “I think Hofstra did a really nice job today and congratulate them on a really good game. This is really good learning for us. It is a matter of just when.”
It was not all good for the Orange as it found itself 0-4 on penalty corners with insertions evenly split between midfielders Lieke Leeggangers and SJ Quigley. Also at times the offense stalled, sending passes to no one and not taking chances to pass. Overall, the Orange offense has seen better days.
“Our timing was a bit off for sure and holding on to the ball a little bit too long and not working and leading off each other, so I think we were just a little bit slow and delayed,” Bradley said. “We will bounce back, a good team finds a way to win and I am proud of the team for doing that today.”
The Orange return to action at 4 p.m. on Friday with a conference tilt against the No. 9 Virginia Cavaliers at Turf Field in Charlottesville, Virginia. The team then returns home to J.S. Coyne Stadium for a game against Dartmouth (3-3) Sunday at 1 p.m.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
