Syracuse Notches 11-9 Back-and Forth Victory over Boston College to Advance to the Final Four

Katie Webster (18)

 

Story by Jillian Thaw

Photo by Chelsea Brobst

(Syracuse, NY) — An aggressive dance—the 12^th time Syracuse and Boston College have met—between the two ACC teams played out slowly at first.

Especially for the Orange.

"We knew they were going to be good," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said following the game. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy. Certainly they showed up. They got up on us early."

BC, looking for both revenge for a tough 11-9 loss to SU at home earlier in the season and to get to the Final Four for the first time, established control early on. A chippy start to the match resulted in two yellow cards for Syracuse, several lost possessions and an 3-0 run for the Eagles on Syracuse.

"We played short, had a few yellow cards...it just made it tough," Gait said. "They took advantage of those opportunities,"

But Boston College's efforts couldn't overcome Syracuse's depth, and the Orange pulled ahead, then held on to defeat the Eagles by that same score, 11-9.

Eagles dominate early

Covie Stanwick and Moira Barry led the Eagles' attack, netting the first three goals, Barry the first,  then a pair by Stanwick, all assisted by Caroline Margolis. Meanwhile, BC’s effective double-teams on Tewaaraton Trophy finalists Alyssa Murray and Kayla Treanor resulted in the Orange’s first goal not coming until more than 15 minutes after the start of the game— and it was made possible only on a free-position shot. The second Orange goal two minutes later was also on a free position.

"We started to figure out they were sending doubles from the top," senior attack Murray said. "Once we got in the flow of that, it really opened [the game] for us."

"We followed our game plan," Boston College head coach Acacia Walker said. " I think it was a big part to take Treanor out of the game which I think we did successfully for a little bit. But then they [Syracuse] sort of found a rhythm and it turned everything around." 

Syracuse took the lead with nine minutes left in the first half on an unassisted goal from Webster, whose strong first-half performance helped the Orange regain control of the game’s tempo.

Following the game, Webster credited Syracuse's midfield for really "stepping it up" while Boston College focused on double-teaming Treanor and Murray. 

Still, Boston College wasn’t about fold, and Sarah Mannelly answered a few minutes later to tie it up 4-4. Twenty seconds later Bridget Daly, assisted by Murray, put the Orange back on top 5-4.

But the problems that plagued the Orange for most of the first half—too much excitement and lack of control—were instead transmitted to Boston College, who gave the Orange three free positions in the first half and several restarts. 

"They did a good job of shutting down some of our players early," Gait said. "But it opened up opportunities for other players." 

Second half: Orange builds lead, Eagles fight back

Murray scored within the opening minute of the second half. That gives her 24 goals in NCAA tournament play—a new Orange record. Webster followed with an unassisted goal to bring Syracuse’s lead to 8-4, but Syracuse’s 8-1 run was ended on a free-position point by BC’s Moira Barry halfway through the second half.

The Eagles battled back cutting the Orange lead by two to 9-7 with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Treanor emerged once more to notch her 73^rd goal of the season to widen the lead 10-7, but BC’s Brooke Blue answered a few seconds later to keep the Eagles in contention at 10-8 with three minutes remaining and Barry got BC within one at 10-9 with just over a minute left.

But Daley won the ensuing draw and on an assist from Murray, senior Natalie Glanell scored on an open net with 20.5 seconds remaining to seal the final score. It was the first career goal for Glanell, a defender playing her final game at home.

Team contributions, depth led to win
 

Webster’s three goals were a team-high. Murray has a goal and two assists while Treanor finished with two goals. Between them they took only five shots. As noted, others took up the slack.

"Kayla and I are obviously very effective attackers," Murray said with a laugh. "But we're not supposed to take on seven defenders. So it opened up huge lanes for the rest of our team who are equally capable."

Syracuse will play the Virginia Cavaliers May 23 in Towson, Maryland. The upcoming match marks the third consecutive Final Four appearance for the Orange women.