Hockey Team looks to Develop Chemistry before Thursday's Game

By: Kali Fisher

Photo courtesy: cuse.com

Syracuse University's Women's Hockey Team is looking to make a strong start to the season despite its youth. The Orange will take on Colgate this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tennity Ice Pavilion with only eight returning veterans.


Seven incoming freshman and eight sophomores make up the rest of the team forcing the returning veterans and underclassmen to find that team chemistry since practices started two weeks ago.


"We're trying to do team bonding to get the girls to know each other and we stay on the ice a little bit longer after practice to get those little touches in that we need to adjust by game day," said senior captain Julie Knerr



Knerr said the freshmen are still getting the systems down and will have to adjust to the faster pace of college games. "They're quick, they good players, good skills," Knerr said.


One freshman she said to look out for is Stephanie Grossi from Shaftesbury Prep in Winnipeg. Grossi is a forward who holds the record for most points and assists with the Shaftesbury Prep team.



Head coach Paul Flanagan said he's relying on his core group of veterans to lead the team and help the younger players out. He said although the freshman have yet to play a shift he can already see the team chemistry developing among them and there's a good balance between the upperclassmen and underclassmen.



Flanagan has four experienced players on defense in juniors Nicole Renault and Danielle Leslie  senior Knerr and redshirt senior Akane Hosoyamada.


One thing that hasn't been decided yet is who will be the starting goalie.  Flanagan has three to choose from, senior Amanda Cariddi, junior Jenn Gilligan, a transfer from New Hampshire who was with SU for the last three weeks of the 2013-2014 season, and freshman Abbey Miller. Flanagan said he probably won't make that decision until Thursday morning.


"Right now, short term goals is to try and get ready for Thursday and ready to compete Thursday night against a team that's already played a game," Flanagan said. "It's tough until you play a game to really see what people can do."


Syracuse and Colgate met twice last season with Syracuse winning 2-1 and 2-0.



Syracuse ended the 2013-2014 season with a a 20-14-3 record and a 9-8-3 in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference and are picked to finish fourth out of six teams this season.  Other teams in the conference are Penn State, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Lindenwood and RIT. Syracuse will take on Boston College in a non-conference game in Boston on Saturday at 2 p.m.

No. 10 Syracuse Breaks Three Game Losing Streak With 6-2 Win At Home

Story and Photo by Robin Deehan

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -

The Syracuse field hockey team broke a three-game losing streak Sunday with a 6-2 win at home against Hofstra (7-4).

The Orange had a quick turnaround after its 3-1 loss to ACC rival Virginia on Friday.

“Our whole focus today was sticks on the ground, inside the 25, aggressive, ruthless, relentless pressure and we have to continue to build on the second half of our Virginia game where, in the ACC, we haven’t been as aggressive in the first month,” head coach Ange Bradley said.

Three freshmen, Lieke Visser, Annalena Ulbrich, and Laura Hurff lead SU’s offensive campaign, combining for five of SU's six goals.

“Our upperclassman moved the ball and our freshman were able to follow and just reshape and we’ve been working a lot on link up hockey and it was nice to see them be able to execute that,” Bradley said.

Hurff started things off scoring just three minutes into the first half by slipping a shot past the Hofstra goalkeeper from a Kati Nearhouse pass.

It was Hurff’s first career goal.

“I just couldn’t believe it, it felt so amazing,” Hurff said.

SU’s next four goals all came off penalty corners. 

Both Ulbrich and Visser ripped shots from the top of the circle to give the Orange its second and third goals to close out the first half.

Visser started off second half scoring when she tipped in a pass from Ulbrich at the post.

Seven minutes later Alyssa Manley scored the last Orange corner goal when she deflected an Ulbrich shot over the goalkeeper for the fifth Orange tally.

“We are training really hard on the corners because all the other games they were not really good, so we trained really hard and we were happy we finally scored some corners this game,” Visser said.

Jordan Page scored the final Orange goal of the game after she buried a penalty stroke in the 58^th minute.

Hofstra scored its two goals in the first half, both by Jonel Boileau.

For SU, this win couldn’t come at a more perfect time.

“I’ve been more confident in my team than ever, we’ve been training so hard the past couple weeks and I know that our season is just starting now and it’s just going to get better,” Hurff said.

Bradley echoed Hurff’s comments, saying the team ended September at 7-3 and is starting October at 0-0.

But in the grand scheme of things SU is always looking ahead to post-season play.

“It’s coming along, its not where it needs to be yet but come November no one remembers September,” Bradley said.

SU hopes to make it two in a row when it travels to Princeton for a game Sunday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.

Warriors Second to Powerful F-M in Rochester

Boys Seeded Varsity AAA (large schools) race at McQuaid Invite
(c) 2014 Danielle Kennedy 

By Danielle Kennedy

Rochester, N.Y – At Genesee Valley Park, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd of hundreds of screaming fans.  But if you’re looking for the Liverpool Cross Country team, it’s not hard to spot the bright orange t-shirts with the words “if not us, WHO?  If not now, WHEN?” stamped on the back.

“There’s a few different meanings for it.” junior Ben Petrella said. ‘If not us,’ as in… Liverpool, then who’s going to be the one to do big things in New York State besides F-M or Saratoga?  Who’s going to be the one to change what [you] thought of Section 3?”

Saturday at the 50th McQuaid Invitational Liverpool did big things but not enough to take down rival Fayetteville-Manlius in the Boys Seeded Varsity AAA (large schools) race.  Even though the Warriors managed to finish three runners in the top ten, they still came in second to the Hornets, 50-72.  Led by Senior Bryce Millar, who finished in second place overall in a time of 14:35, the Hornets also had three finishers in the top ten.

The overall individual winner of the race was Senior Andrew Marston of Conestoga, who crossed the line in a time of 14:32.  His time for the 3.0 mile course was just seven seconds short of the course record which was set by Mickey Burke of Rush-Henrietta last year.  The race also ended Millar’s streak this season of breaking the course record for every course he’s raced on.

Teamwork

Petrella was the first finisher for Liverpool, crossing the line in a time of 14:42 as the third overall finisher in the field of 125 runners.  The only runner from Liverpool to ever break 14:50 at Genesee Valley Park was Dan McKenna in 2002.  Seniors Connor Buck (14:52) and Dan Muldoon (15:02) were the next two scorers for Liverpool, finishing the race in sixth and tenth place, respectively.

When the team’s fourth runner, Dylan McCarthy, dropped out in the middle of the race, sophomore Ty Brownlow stepped up to finish in a time of 15:38 for a 24th overall finish. Not only was this Brownlow’s first time racing in a varsity race for Liverpool, but his finishing time was nearly a minute and a half faster than his time at McQuaid last year.

“I trained really hard this summer,” Brownlow said.  “I just wanted it really bad.”

“Ty is honestly one of the hardest workers on this team,” senior captain Nick LeClair said.  “Every workout you can hear him breathing really heavy because he’s working hard and that showed yesterday when he was our fourth runner. He definitely deserves it.”

(c) 2014 Danielle Kennedy

LeClair also had a big race Saturday, finishing 30th overall as the team’s fifth scorer.  Although his time of 15:47 was six seconds slower than it was last year, this was LeClair’s first completed race this season after he was stuck cross-training to recover from some minor pain in his shin.

“It felt good having most of the team back and healthy,” Connor Buck said.  “Every week we’ve had something come up when everyone is injured or someone is sick but just to have our top guys get back into the swing of things together, and just until we all get it together, we’re going to do big things. It’s a matter of time.”

The Takeaway

Even though all of the pieces are not in place just yet, head coach Tracey Vannatta said this race was yet another step for Liverpool in preparing for the bigger and better races later on in the season.

“We came here to win and have great performances because it’s [McQuaid] and a fast course and a big race,”Vannatta said. “We need to have big race experience and learn to run well in big races.”

When McCarthy is added back into the equation, the Warriors hope they can put everything together in time for Sectionals and the NYSPHAA State Meet.  Now that LeClair is healthy again, Petrella said it’s nice to have confidence that the younger runners on the team can step up.

“It motivated me a lot to see that,” Petrella said.  “It’s a glimmer of what we’re going to see later on in the season, 

What’s Next

Liverpool will face off against Cicero-North Syracuse on Wednesday, October 1.  The Warriors will race against F-M again in two weeks at the Manhattan College HS XCInvitational.

Full meet results courtesy of mcquaidinvitational.com

Syracuse Men Beat No. 2 Virginia, 1-0

Story and Photos by Thomas Zhou

Syracuse, N.Y. -

Preparing for the game

 

Captain Skylar Thomas’ header gave No.18 Syracuse men’s soccer an upset 1-0 win over  No.2 Virginia Saturday at the SU Soccer Stadium. Junior goalie Alex Bono recorded his eight shutout of the year for SU (8-1-0, 2-1-0 ACC) in the win over the Cavaliers (4-3-1, 1-1-1 ACC).

The goal came in the 30th minute. Julian Buescher took the right corner which is usually taken by left-footed defender Jordan Murrell and turned it into an assist. The 6-foot-3 Thomas scored with a header, dominating Cavaliers' defenders in the box.

“We just switched it out,” Thomas explained about the strategy. “We used outswinger which means we are switching away from the keeper (Calle Brown) because he’s big and did well in there.”


The Cavaliers threatened the Orange using pressure to create opportunities in the first 20 minutes. The defenders in Orange were tested and Bono made two crucial saves to make sure Virginia never got the lead. After adjusting to the intensity, the Orange began to take control over the game. The four starting midfielders connected to each other well and contributed six shots altogether, nearly half of the team's 13 shots.



Audience cheering for the home team

The victory was the Orange’s eighth win in its nine games. The Orange has won four consecutive games after its 1-0 loss to defending national champion Notre Dame. The Irish score is the only one the defense has allowed..

 

“I think it is a very honest group,” Coach Ian McIntyre said, evaluating his team. “You are going to win games and you are going to lose some games. But if you feel that you have left everything on the pitch, then you are happy and I think we have been doing that.”

 

The attendance on Saturday was 2,019, second most the SU Soccer Stadium ever had. Syracuse will host its next opponent, Colgate, on Sept. 30.

No. 8 Notre Dame Deals Unranked Syracuse It’s Second Straight Loss

Story and Photo By Robin Deehan

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In front of the largest crowd ever for a college football game at MetLife Stadium No. 8 Notre Dame beat unranked Syracuse 31-15 Saturday night to remain unbeaten at 4-0.

In spite of forcing five Irish turnovers, Syracuse dropped to 2-2 on the season suffering its second straight loss.
 

“I thought our kids played extremely hard, physical football,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said. “I was really pleased with a lot of the things that were going on, especially in that first half.”

First Half

Syracuse failed to capitalize on a fumble recovery and an interception and after a scoreless first quarter with both SU and ND trading punts, the Irish struck first. Quarterback Everett Golson connected with Will Fuller for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10:56 left in the first half.

SU’s offense didn’t do the defense any favors when it went three and out on the very next possession, giving the defense only a two-minute rest.

Notre Dame was able to capitalize on a tired SU defense when Golson threw a bomb down field to find Fuller again for a 72-yard score.   

“The defense did a great job, they gave us the ball, and the offense fell short a couple times," SU quarterback Terrel Hunt said. "I put that on myself and I’ll just go back to the drawing board and get better next week,”

Desperate to score, SU made a 55-yard drive down field resulting in a 38-yard field goal from Cole Murphy to get SU on the board going into halftime.

Second Half

Syracuse's first drive of the second half looked promising with a 33-yard reception by Jarrod West and back-to-back runs by Prince-Tyson Gully. 

But on the next play, Hunt was picked off by Matthias Farley, who brought the ball back to the Notre Dame 40-yard line.

Notre Dame took advantage of the interception when Golson floated a ball to Corey Robinson for an eight-yard touchdown extending the Irish lead to 21-3.

On SU’s next possession the Orange men looked as though they were about to go three and out, but Riley Dixon faked the punt and ran 42-yards before being brought down at the Notre Dame 30-yard line. 

The fake punt wasn’t enough and Notre Dame got the ball back four plays later after SU couldn’t convert on 4^th and 1.

“We got the ball down the field, we weren’t able to get in the end one where we wanted to get it,” Hunt said. “It was frustrating but you have to play on.”

SU’s best chance at finally seeing the end zone came after Durell Eskridge recovered another Notre Dame fumble. this one by Greg Bryant near the end of the third quarter. 

Starting at its own 28, SU marched down the field in a drive that included a 28-yard completion to West and a 25-yarder to Steve Ishmael. Hunt ran the ball in for a seven-yard touchdown, improving the score to 21-9. But Notre Dame blocked the extra point.

SU then attempted an onside kick that was recovered by the Irish, resulting in another touchdown when Golson connected with Torii Hunter Jr. for 13-yards to make the score 28-9.

After a missed field goal by SU’s Murphy, Eskridge forced another turnover by intercepting Golson and returning it for a 29-yard pick-6 SU touchdown closing the gap to 28-15. An attempted two-point conversion failed.

SU attempted its second onside kick of the game that was also recovered by ND, got into field goal range and scored the last points of the game for a final score of 31-15.

A Solid Defensive Effort

The Syracuse defense put up a solid effort forcing the number eight team in the country to turn the ball over five times. The fact that the Orange failed to convert those turnovers to points was not lost on Shafer.

“I am pleased with our defensive effort tonight but we did still give up 517 (yards- officially it was 523) so that’s not good enough,” Shafer said.

On top of Eskridge’s pick-6, he also finished the game with a season high nine tackles but said that wasn’t enough.

“We could have played with these people,” Eskridge said.  “We had a good shot to win this game and again we have beat ourselves and the only think we can do is get ready and come in tomorrow and go to work,”

Record-setting Night

The 76,802 in attendance made up the largest crowd ever for a college football game at Metlife Stadium.

ND’s Golson also set a Notre Dame record by completing 25 consecutive passes between the second and third quarters.

Looking Ahead

Syracuse has a short week to prepare for its next game. 

“We have to come back tomorrow and concentrate on the little things, the penalties, the ball disruption, the scooping and scoring, the little thing we have to come back and go to work on that tomorrow.” Eskridge said.  “We have a big week ahead of us with Louisville coming in on Friday night.”

Syracuse will host Louisville (4-1, 2-1 ACC) in the Orange's first ACC matchup this Friday, with kickoff scheduled for 7pm.

Syracuse vs. Notre Dame Game Preview and Notes

        

              Saturday, September 27, 2014 - 8:00 pm ET

                                                                         
                                                                       TV: ABC

                                                                  MetLife Stadium

                                                        East Rutherford, New Jersey

By Michael Castellano

Syracuse will face-off against #8 Notre Dame this Saturday from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The last time the Orange played in an NFL stadium it was hoisting the Texas Bowl trophy last December when they beat Minnesota 21-17 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Let's take a look at some notes to keep in mind as the Orange prepare to take on the Irish in their last non conference game before ACC play begins. 

Unfamiliar Foe

The last time Syracuse and Notre Dame squared off was in 2008 when the Orange stunned the Irish 24-23 with quarterback Cameron Dantley at the helm. The win was the highlight of a disappointing 3-9 season which ultimately marked the end of Greg Robinson's reign as head coach.

Home Field Advantage?

Although the game will be played at a neutral site in MetLife Stadium, Syracuse is officially listed as the home team for this contest. The Irish will play their second of three games this season in an NFL stadium. Notre Dame is 3-1 in pro stadiums since 2012, their lone loss coming to Alabama in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game at Sun Life Stadium. They are also 5-2 when they play on ABC dating back to 2012.

Run Terrel Run

The Orange running game will be going up against an Irish defense that ranks 24th in the nation in yards allowed at 315 per game. Terrel Hunt is coming off a career best 156 rushing yards against Maryland last Saturday. The dual-threat QB also leads the team in rushing, totaling 273 yards so far this season. RB Prince Tyson Gulley added 138 yards on the ground for the Orange against Maryland.

Famous Father and Son Connections

The Irish have three players who are the sons of famous athletes. Torii Hunter Jr. is the son of Major Leaguer Torii Hunter, Corey Robinson's father is NBA legend David Robinson, and Austin Collinsworth is the son of former NFL player and current sportscaster Chris Collinsworth. Torii Hunter Jr. will make his college debut this Saturday against the Orange. The sophomore WR redshirted last season and was sidelined early this year after battling injuries. WR Corey Robinson has five receptions on the year totaling 99 yards including a TD two weeks ago in an Irish win over Purdue. Fifth year senior and Notre Dame captain Austin Collinsworth is in line to make his season debut Saturday against Syracuse. He has been sidelined with an MCL strain which he suffered two days before the season opener against Rice.

Is the D For Real?

The Orange defense has been good thus far this season although against at best fair competition. It ranks in the top 50 nationally in yards allowed per game at just 325. The Syracuse defense allowed 31 points in the first half to Maryland last week, but the Terps only second half points came off a fourth quarter field goal. Defensive tackle Wayne Williams continues to be a force on the defensive side for Syracuse. He recorded three tackles while playing 15 snaps in the second half.


Excused Absences

Both teams will be without marquee players heading into Saturday's matchup. Syracuse receiver Ashton Broyld, who leads the Orange with 11 catches for 125 yards will miss the game with a lower leg injury. Notre Dame receiver Amir Carlisle is also out with a leg injury. Carlisle is second on the team with 11 catches this season.










                                                                         

Orange Volleyball Finishes Pre-Season with Win; Hopeful for ACC Play

Story and photo by Jessica Eley

(Syracuse, N.Y.) -
 

Salkute goes up to swing

Bump, set, hit, kill...that’s how most balls ended after Syracuse's junior middle blocker, Monika Salkute, touched them Sunday evening. She ended the Otto Invitational Tournament at the SU Women's Building  with a career-high 20 kills against Cornell.

“I feel like the setter (Gosia Wlaszczuk) trusted me more than usual...someone had to step up,” Salkute said.

SU head volleyball coach, Leonid Yelin wants more.

Yelin  took a long pause before he spoke, then said he wasn’t impressed. “I know the potential of everyone of my players on my team...I know she can play better,” he said.

Yelin: "I think we were tired."

The Orange had played its third and final match of the weekend after losing to Colgate in five sets just hours before.

“I would be more than happy if we had a little bit more time between first and second match," Yelin said ."They recovered a little bit, but I think we were tired.”

The Orange finished its last pre-season tournament, 2-1, sweeping Albany on Saturday 3-0, before losing to Colgate 3-2 and beating Cornell 3-1 on Sunday. Colgate was the tournament winner.

Salkute and Wlaszczuk were named to the all-tournament team. Salkute finished with with 52 kills while Wlaszczuk collected 114 assists over the weekend.

Sand gets her chance

With Melina Violas, who normally plays libero, home with the flu, freshman defensive specialist Belle Sand, made her first start as libero in Sunday's matches. She finished the weekend with 33 digs. “It feels good, like all of my hard work is paying off,"Sand said. "The players are trusting me. Coach is trusting me,”

 

“We wanted to give her a little bit of opportunity to see how she would do as a starter,"Yelin said. "She knows she needs to be more confident.”

ACC next

The Orange (7-5) opens conference play this weekend at North Carolina State on Friday and #13 North Carolina on Sunday. Salkute said she knows it's a tough road ahead and the team needs to turn up its play even more.
 

“I think we’re improving by little steps from the first tournament," Salkute said."We’re making less of our own mistakes...we’ll see next week when the opponents will be much tougher than they are right now,”

Yelin is hopeful for conference play. He said he knows that his team has the potential to be very good and can compete with anyone in the nation.

“Every game we play, we are playing to win,” Yelin said.

 

Syracuse Rowing Honors the Past with a Night Under the Lights

Story and Photos by Lauren Williams

(Liverpool, N.Y. - )

Senior A boat falls to Sophomore A in first undergrad match race

Coming back to the place where it all started is not always easy. But for roughly 175 Syracuse University rowing alumni, coming back is more than a time to catch up.

Alumni both young and old gathered at the James A. Ten Eyck Boathouse on September 20 to reminisce about years past, as well as recognize the 2014 Hall of Fame class and, in many cases to get into a shell and race.

The gathering was conceived by both men’s head coach Dave Reischman and the women’s head coach Justin Moore as a way to encourage alumni to return to their alma mater.

“It’s a fun event,” Reischman said. “It’s basically our opportunity to give alumni a window back into our program and probably most importantly to give them a chance to reconnect with teammates that they probably haven’t seen in a long time.”

Despite heavy rain, last year’s event was a success and the Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association (SARA) decided to host the celebration again. This year the sun shone brightly and the temperature remained in the 70s for most of the afternoon.

“The response was good last year,” Reischman said. “Almost everybody was like ‘this is the best alumni event that we’ve ever been to’ and it was pouring down rain. That’s a really good endorsement that it was something people really enjoy.”

Boat dedications

The day kicked off with the dedication of two boats. The first was named for Hall of Fame inductee Mark Lyvers ’77 who was the first women’s varsity coach in the history of the program.  Lyvers helped to make the program competitive, with the first year’s team competing in the famous Head of the Charles as well as a race against Yale.

“It’s amazing to see all the facilities and the support from the University,” Lyvers said. “That still chokes me up. I’m still basically speechless. Like I tried to say earlier today, it’s the people, it’s them who built the program. Coaches will come and go, but it’s people who are there who persevere, who did those kinds of things they built the program and that is what I’m proud about. “

The second boat that was dedicated was christened by Drew Harrison ’68. The coach for the men’s freshmen team, whose teams missed a medal at the IRA Regatta just once in nine years, and won three consecutive national championships at the IRA in 1976, '77 and '78.  Like Lyvers Harrison credited the team as the reason for the program’s growth.

“I got to coach here for nine years with tremendous success,” Harrison said.  “I feel this is shared with all the athletes I have coached within those nine years. I’m the center of some attention tonight, but really is a shared honor.”

Rowing and Racing

Within the next hour, alumni slipped into clothes that would allow them to participate in the recreational row. Roughly 24 alumni spent half an hour gliding across the water including 91-year old Paul Irvine ’45, a former World War II fighter pilot.

500-meter alumni match races began shortly after to narrow down the teams which would compete under the stars (and floodlights.) The eights featured a mix of men and women alums. After three heats, four boats moved on to the semifinals to compete against each other, with the winner to take on a boatload of current team members for the "World Championship."

As the sun set, the four undergraduate teams that advanced from their preliminary races in the morning took to the water. They too were a mix of rowers from the men's and women's teams. After crushing both the senior and sophomore class boats in the semifinals, the juniors advanced through the bracket to the championship race and ultimately victory against a game but not quite as fit alumni eight.

New Hall of Famers

Once the evening’s races had wrapped up, the Hall of Fame inductees were honored for the contributions they made to Syracuse rowing and to the sport overall. Along with Lyvers and Harrison, this year’s class included the 1913 IRA champion varsity eight as a team and three of its members as individuals: coxswain Clifford "Tip" Goes (1913) and oarsmen Marty Hilfinger (1914) and Howard Robbins (1914). Dr. Tom Kerr (1939), who co-founded SARA and Steve Gladstone(1964), who has coached championship teams at Brown and California and is now men's head coach at Yale rounded out the honorees. 

No. 11 Boston College upsets No. 4 Syracuse in Overtime Thriller

Story and photo by Robin Deehan

No. 11 Boston College stunned No. 4 Syracuse 3-2 in overtime at Coyne Stadium Saturday.

Romee Stiekema’s game-winning goal came after BC was awarded a corner 3:31 into sudden victory overtime.

Stiekema's first career goal gave Syracuse its second loss of the season and its second in a row.

“I feel amazing of course,” Stiekema said. “But in the end it was the whole team working.”

Scoring started early when SU’s Emma Russell connected on a shot from the top of the circle 2:33 into the game. 

Three minutes later BC answered with a goal from Emily McCoy who scored off a corner making it 1-1.

BC wouldn’t strike again until the start of the second half when Katlyn Soucy knocked one in from right in front of the goal to put the Eagles up 2-1.

BC had a chance to improve its one goal lead when the Eagles had a one-on-one breakaway, but were denied by an impressive save from SU goalkeeper Jess Jecko.

In the 58^th minute SU was able to convert a penalty corner when Annalena Ulbrich scored off a pass from Jordan Page to even the score at 2-2 to close out regulation scoring.

Overtime was short and BC improved to 6-1 on the season when Stiekema scored off a give and go pass from Soucy to put the game away.

Syracuse dropped to 6-2 on the season and 0-2 in ACC play, having lost 3-0 to No. 1 UNC last week.

Although SU outshot BC 16-12, BC drew eight corners compared to SU’s three and that’s what made the difference.

“Obviously we didn’t protect our feet enough in the circle and got a lot of corners given against us,” Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said.  “Their forwards did a great job of earning corners and putting us in a situation and that’s an area that we can continue to grow in ourselves.”

Jecko had four saves while BC goalkeeper Leah Settipane recorded eight.

With two assists, Jordan Page moved into sixth place in program history with 29 career assists.

Captain Emma Russell said the team has a lot to work on this week.

“This team has never lost two games in a row so I think that’s something kind of really important,” Russell said. “We need to regroup and kind of talk about what it means to wear this jersey because I think at times we just get too frantic and then we lose sight of the moment, so it’s just having control of the game and knowing how to just finish.”

SU will head to No. 10 Virginia Friday September 26^th looking for its first ACC win. 

Missed Opportunities Lead to Disappointing Day for the Orange

SU prepares for a FG attempt against Maryland.

By: Emily Dick

Syracuse, N.Y.-- Turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities plagued the SU Football team Saturday afternoon as the Orange fell to the Maryland Terrapins, 34-20, in the team's first lost this season.

SU started strong with a short and efficient opening drive, but was only able to produce a field goal.

That 3-0 lead only lasted two minutes.

 

Maryland answered with a 25-yard pass from quarterback C.J. Brown to Marcus Leak, taking a 7-3 lead, a lead the Orange was never able to overcome.

“I never felt like we gave ourselves a push in the momentum throughout the course of the game to just get on track,” Coach Scott Shafer said after the game.

The Terps took advantage of the spotty Syracuse coverage in the next drive, scoring after two plays totaling 90 yards, increasing the Maryland lead to 14-3.

Orange rebounds, then stumbles

Syracuse found some energy toward the end of the first quarter after freshman Cole Murphy’s hit his first career field goal from 49 yards out.

It was the start of a 10-0 run for the Orange. The next drive took seven plays and went into the second quarter when Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt ran for eight yards and dove into the end zone. SU only trailed by one, 14-13.

The promising start to the second quarter then took a downward turn.

Maryland led 17-13 after another field goal, and forced a short drive and punt from the Orange. That’s when Terrapin Anthony Nixon blocked Riley Dixon’s punt, giving his team great field position at Syracuse’s 28 yard line. The Terps scored a minute and a half later, making the score 24-13 after the extra point.

On the next Syracuse drive, Hunt completed two passes, one for 20 yards to Brisly Estime and the other for 51 yards to Jarrod West to put the Orange on Maryland’s 19 yard line. But he then gave up his first interception of the season to sophomore defensive back William Likely, who ran it 88 yards the other way for a touchdown.

“I turned early from getting the play from the sidelines," " Hunt said. "I didn’t get the whole play because I thought I knew it. It was just a miscommunication between me and the sideline.”

Maryland’s Likely said he was waiting to make a big play.

“Coach called a great play. He told me to make a play on it. Once I saw two go up the field, I had to squeeze one and that’s what I did. I was shocked, but I just saw the green grass,” he said.

To add more frustration, the Orange had a chance to leave the half with another field goal on the board, but Ryan Norton missed the 25-yard attempt. Syracuse went into the locker room down 31-13.

A quiet second half

Neither team scored again until halfway through the fourth quarter.

Syracuse started a drive with the ball on its own 18-yard line but Hunt fumbled. Maryland recovered the ball and scored on a 44-yard field goal with 6:29 left in the game.

The disappointment was palpable as the 40,511 fans started filing out of the stadium while the game continued.

The Orange gave one last push at the end of the game with a nine-play drive for 89 yards. Hunt kept the ball for one yard and scored, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Terrapins. The game ended as a 34-20 Maryland win.

Shafer: "We did not play smart."

After the game, Shafer was disappointed with the amount of turnovers his team gave up.

“We kept fighting, I thought the kids continued to play hard, but we did not play smart and take care of the almighty football, and when you don’t do that you lose games,” he said.

Statistically, Syracuse had nine more first downs than Maryland and had close to 600 yards of total offense, 200 more than the Terps.  Hunt was pleased with the overall offensive performance, but not the end result.

“I don’t really like moral victories because you lose," he said. "On the bright side you see where we are going as an offense, passing wise, rushing wise, you can see things opening up. We wish we would have won, but we’ll go back to the drawing board.”

Terrapins' take
 

Maryland had to counter Syracuse’s offense by finding holes in the Orange defense.

“We knew they were going to bring pressure," Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown said. "We spotted their blitz and we exploited that in the beginning,”

After the game, Maryland head coach Randy Edsall, a former Syracuse football player and assistant coach, was asked about what it was like to return to his alma mater and come up with a big win.

"I'm just glad we won," Edsall said.  "I'll root for Syracuse every other game, except this one. Coach Shafer is a very good coach. They have a good team and they'll win many more games the rest of the year. I enjoyed my time here and I'm grateful. I'm glad we won."

Irish next for SU

Syracuse (2-1) travels to East Rutherford, N.J. next week to play ninth-ranked Notre Dame (3-0) at Metlife Stadium in what is officially a home game for SU.

Shafer said he wants his team to look back at the mistakes from this game and learn from them on Sunday.

“But after we have dinner, we throw away the last game, for better or worse," Shafer said. "We throw it away and then we focus on our next target, which would be Notre Dame.”

Orange Volleyball Looks to Bounce Back After Three Straight Losses in Ohio

rs-sophomore outside hitter, Valeriya Shaipova. Photo courtesy of cuse.com 

SU head volleyball coach, Leonid Yelin, sat in his office at Manley Field House on Monday afternoon reflecting on his team's weaknesses and strengths from the weekend. He said he thinks his team worked very hard but there are certain weaknesses that playing tougher teams exposed.

"If you can't get the ball to the setter, it doesn't matter what we've been practicing," Yelin said.

The team went 0-3 this weekend at the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati, losing to Ohio State 3-2, Xavier 3-0 and Ohio University 3-1. Ohio State, Ohio and Xavier all appeared in the NCAA tournament last year. After starting the season 5-1, the Orange is now 5-4. 

Yelin said he and the coaching staff stressed the importance of ball control and controlling the easy balls during pre-season and now the players see why. They are not able to run their offense if the pass is not to the setter. Although, the team’s weak points showed this past weekend, defense proved its strongest point as usual.

The Orange out-blocked every team with 57 total blocks during the weekend.

"We need to keep doing well blocking wise, when the ball is served to us and we nail it to the setter, 90 percent of the time we're going to get the point," Yelin said.

Lindsay McCabe, the 6'1 redshirt senior middle blocker, earned a spot on the all-tournament team after finishing the weekend with 15 kills and 15 blocks. She is 24 blocks away from being the all-time block assists leader at Syracuse.

"We had some tougher competition this weekend compared to other weekends," said McCabe. "It might not have showed, but we did play better this weekend."

After Monday’s closed practice at the Women's Building she said the team worked hard in simulated game drills.

Last week, junior outside hitter, Silvi Uattara said the team needed to focus on the first touch of the ball during the weekend's tournament and that is exactly what the team struggled with.

The Orange had more reception errors than their opponents in each game, totaling 25 for the weekend. Reception errors are serves that hit the floor, a ball that can't be kept in play or if a player is called for a lift while attempting to pass the serve.

With Atlantic Coast Conference play around the corner, Yelin said he is looking for the best possible lineup that will win games. So far he said he is only getting production in offense from Uattara, McCabe and Monika Salkute.

Yelin is looking forward to the redshirt sophomore outside hitter, Valeriya Shaipova, being back to full health. Shaipova tore her ACL at practice last season and has since been working at getting her knee back to strength.

"We're working for Valeria to come back to 100 percent...This would give us a chance to move Monika (Salkute) back to her spot," Yelin said. "Our winning streak last year started when she stepped on the floor as an outside hitter before we loss her to injury."

This means Salkute and McCabe would be the middle blockers. Shaipova receiving more sets would open up Uattara more, which would make it easier for her to score points. Yelin said he hopes this lineup will be good for this weekend against their last non-conference opponents.

This weekend the Orange faces in-state rivals Albany, Colgate and Cornell at the Otto Invitational home tournament on Saturday and Sunday in the Women's Building.

Syracuse Men's Soccer Falls to Defending National Champion Notre Dame in Conference Opener

Story and photos by Julia Morris

Temperatures on Saturday night dropped down to the low 50s but the brisk, chilly air did not stop a record-setting crowd of 2,442 from going to watch the Syracuse men's soccer team (4-1) host defending national champion Notre Dame (3-1-1).  

“I think that it’s been the best crowd we’ve had easily…I looked up a couple times and didn’t see a seat in the stadium,” Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono said.  “And that was huge for us - it gives us a huge rush of adrenaline being on the field and watching the fans cheer us on.”

But it wasn't enough to get the win. Despite the packed hill of fans behind the net and home-crowd enthusiasm, the Orange was shut out by the Irish and handed its first loss of the season by a final score of 1-0.  With the win, Notre Dame bounced back from a loss to Kentucky and avoided its first losing streak since 2010.

Skylar Thomas received two yellow cards in the game

The only goal of the game was scored in the 74^th minute of play.  Right before the goal, Syracuse center back Skylar Thomas was ejected from the game after receiving his second yellow card.  The 6-foot-3 Thomas took down Notre Dame forward Jon Gallagher as he was charging down the pitch.  The crowd, which erupted into boos following the two previous yellow cards against the Orange, again voiced its displeasure with the call as Thomas left the field.

“You lose your 6-foot-3 guy and we’re a pretty small team,” Orange coach Ian McIntyre said. “You’re a man down chasing a very technical team.”

The Irish immediately took advantage of being a man-up against the Orange. In a free kick play following the ejection, midfielder Patrick Hodan, who leads the Irish in career assists, connected with sophomore Brandon Aubrey, who headed the ball into the left corner of the goal.  The score was the first of Aubrey’s career and gave the Irish a 1-0 lead. Prior to the point, Orange keeper Alex Bono had not given up a goal this season. 

Notre Dame's Max Lachowecki gets ready to shoot

“To give up a set piece on the ensuing play is disappointing for us, set pieces are something we take pride in defending and attacking,” Bono said. “So that was tough for us but we put a lot of effort in the last fifteen minutes even without a center back and we pushed guys forward and we had chances to tie the game.”

One of those chances came with only three minutes left in the contest when midfielder Nick Perea had the ball in the left corner of the field by the Notre Dame goal.  His cross pass attempt to set up a score failed as the ball soared over the net.  Perea fell to the ground after the kick and upon realizing that the ball went out of play, slammed his hand down on the grass in frustration.

“I hit the ball wrong,"  Perea said. "I wasn’t trying to shoot I was trying to cross it so I was a little frustrated with myself. I was hoping to get a better cross for my teammates.”

In the first half, the contest was a back and forth battle and with only fifteen minutes remaining  both teams had attempted three shots and two corner kicks. Overall, the Orange outshot the Irish 13-12, which was a much different result than last year's contest in which the Irish outshot the Orange 17-4.  The Irish also beat the Orange 4-2 in 2012.  McIntyre said the hard-fought contest between the two teams had a much different feel this year and overall he was pleased with his team's performance.

“This was a different game than those games…we worked extremely hard against a very talented team…we were good tonight…I think we did as well a job as we could and nullified four very good forwards. It was a great start to the season...I'm very happy where we are if we continue to improve."

The Orange will host Cornell on Tuesday Night.  The Irish plays its next game at Virginia on the 21st.