No 13. Syracuse Upsets No. 5 Louisville for First ACC Win

Story and Photo By Robin Deehan

The No. 13 Syracuse field hockey team upset No. 5 Louisville at Coyne stadium Saturday to gain its first ACC win of the season.

“I thought we had a really good game put in place,” Head Coach Ange Bradley said. “The kids believed in it, and they believed in themselves, and they executed, and at the end of the day, we were aggressive and we came out to play like we’re a viable contender for an ACC championship.”

Freshman midfielder Laura Hurff tallied her second and third career goals in the crucial win for the Orange.

“It’s unbelievable we’re coming up stronger than ever," Hurff said. " October has been a huge month for us so far, and we’re just going to keep building as a team, it’s just unbelievable.”

Hurff started off scoring in the 27^th minute of play after she deflected a ball Annalena Ulbrich ripped from outside the circle to give the Orange the 1-0 advantage going into halftime.

SU carried that momentum into the second half when Emma Russell sailed a ball over the goalie on a breakaway pass from Alyssa Manley three minutes in..

“We trained really, really hard throughout the week and we really wanted this win and we knew we could do it,” Russell said.  “So we executed the game plan, which is really important, and we just finished it which is unbelievable for our team right now.”

 

Exactly ten minutes later, Lauren Brooks sent a ball in front of the goal to Hurff, who buried it in the top right corner of the cage.

SU controlled most of the game, outshooting Louisville 19-7 and not giving up a goal until the last two minutes of play.

“At the start of the season we had one or two forwards working, but now we have the three forwards, and a midfielder, and maybe a second midfielder,” Russell said. “I think that’s just brought a lot more to the team and brings a lot more speed to the game.”

Louisville’s lone goal came when Lotta Kahlert capitalized on an SU turnover.

The goal was too little. too late for the Cardinals and SU improved to 9-3 on the season, 1-3 in conference play, while Louisville dropped to 10-3, 3-2 ACC.

The Orange has a quick turnaround traveling to in-state rival Cornell Sunday.  The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.