Syracuse Women's Soccer Team Drops Third Straight Game with 2-0 Loss to Notre Dame

By Julia Morris

The No. 13 Notre Dame women’s soccer team (10-4-1) extended its unbeaten streak on the road by defeating the Syracuse Orange (5-8-3) on a cold and rainy Saturday night.  The Irish is now 6-0-1 in away games this season and 11-0 all-time against the Orange.  Syracuse fell to a ranked opponent for the third time in as many games, as the team was coming off road losses to No. 2 Florida State and No. 21 Clemson.  

The contest was scoreless for the first 68 minutes, but Notre Dame scored twice in the remaining time to secure the victory.  Before its first score, Irish forward Kaleigh Olmsted sent a shot to the left corner of the goal that was deflected by Orange goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, who dove and hit it away from the net.  However, the ball bounced back to the middle of the box after Brosnan's deflection and Notre Dame midfielder Cari Roccaro found it and struck it through the upper middle part of the goal.     

“The girl spun around the defender on the outside, I played the across that I thought I had to come to…I couldn’t really catch it because it was a little further out so I just tried to block it, parry it away as far as possible," Brosnan said. "We weren’t really marked on the second round so the girl just came in and finished it."

The Irish scored again just ten minutes later.   Senior forward Lauren Bohaboy crossed a pass to Olmsted on the left side of the box and Olmsted proceeded to deliver a pinpoint shot to the far lower left corner of the net for her second goal of the season.  

Syracuse captain Jackie Firenze said that the Orange midfield unit was partially to blame for the two offensive finishes by the Irish.

“We should have stepped in front and blocked those shots…we got caught in transition and we didn’t track back so that’s on us,” Firenze said.

There was a constant mist of rain throughout most of the game.  Players were slipping and sliding on the field and Orange defender Erin Simon’s white jersey and shorts were covered in mud stains as time was winding down.

“Sometimes when its rainy and wet it actually makes it a little more interesting because the ball will go a little bit quicker and the speed of play will be a little bit quicker,” Firenze said.

If the rain affected the speed of the game, it did not provide an advantage for the Orange.  Notre Dame had 30 total shots while Syracuse finished the game with two.  The first of those shots came with only five minutes remaining in the first half.  Orange freshman Jessica Vigna struck the ball from the middle of the box toward the net, but it went directly into the hands of Notre Dame goalkeeper Kaela Little, who recorded her ninth shutout of the year.  Little also blocked Orange sophomore Maddie Iozzi’s shot following an Orange corner kick in the 76^th minute of the game.

“We were our own worst enemy in possession…we were predictable in attack,” Orange Coach Phil Wheddon said.  “We just didn’t take care of the ball…when we did possess and pass and go forward, the pass was the wrong pass or under hit or over hit.”

The Orange has not scored a goal since its October 4th victory against Boston College.

“We have really seen a dip in our attacking production so that’s going to be our focus going forward,” Coach Wheddon said.

Both teams will play their next match on Thursday, October 23^rd.  The Orange will host No. 10 Virginia Tech (12-4-0) and the Irish will host No. 21 Clemson (11-2-2).