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.