Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Syracuse Defeats Harvard 17-4

(Photo by: Jillian Thaw)

By: Chelsea Brobst

            The Syracuse women’s lacrosse team started the second half of the regular season with an easy win over Harvard at the Carrier Dome Tuesday night. It was the fourth straight game at home and with a score of 17-4, No. 3 Syracuse showed why it has been one of the top-ranked teams this entire season.
 
            Just like the last time these two teams met in 2012, Alyssa Murray, now a senior, contributed five points, this time on two goals and three assists. Murray started the scoring with less than three minutes gone in the first half. The Orange would go on to score another four straight in the following four minutes. In total, 12 different Syracuse players scored in the win.
 
            The Ivy League Defensive Player of the week, Kelly Weis made 12 saves in goal for Harvard. But even she could not stop the number of threats on the Syracuse offense. The depth of the scoring ability did not go unnoticed by Murray. “People finding success all over the field between the midfield and attack, it’s going to help us in the long run.”
 
            Junior Devon Collins agreed with Murray about the need for scoring depth. “We’re trying to get everybody involved more now and it’s kind of harder of now for the defenses to keep focus when there are threats coming from all over instead of just a couple of players, they have to pay a lot more attention.”
 
            Coach Gary Gait was proud of the way his attack unit competed. “Our attack picked it up a little bit,” Gait said. “I thought the effort level on the attack was better and I think that was the key, the defense and the offensive players willing to work as hard as the defensive players.”
 
            The Syracuse defense once again shut down the opposing team. Alyssa Costantino, the ACC Co-Defensive player of the week, and Kelsey Richardson split time in the cage. Richardson made five saves in the second half. Harvard freshman, Marisa Romeo who leads the Crimson with 20 points, was held to a single assist. Freshman Megan Hennessey, second leading points scorer, was limited to only two goals.
 
            The game also marked the return of Lisa Miller, former Syracuse Head Coach and current coach at Harvard. Gait credits Miller with the current success of the Syracuse program. “She did a great job building this program and taking it to a very competitive level. We are just trying to build off what she started. She’s a great coach and I just appreciate everything she did for the Syracuse program when I took over.”
 
            With the loss, Harvard now falls to a record of 3-3 on the year and will look to get back above .500 when it takes on Yale this Saturday. The Syracuse women, now 8-1, will begin to prep for Northwestern, the team that defeated them in the National Championship game two years ago. Northwestern has won ten in a row against Syracuse and lead the series 11-1.

            Syracuse split a pair of home games against Top Five teams over spring break, losing to No 2 Maryland 12-10 and beating No.4 Florida 17-12..
 
            Murray hopes to use the momentum from the Harvard game against a very tough Northwestern defense. “I think today is a good start and a good way to prep for Northwestern, because in the past they’ve played a high pressure defense which really makes you have to focus and not make mental errors.”
 
            The No. 7 Wildcats come to the Carrier Dome this Sunday for a 1 p.m. start time.



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