Orange Field Hockey Dominates Big Red, 9-1

By Zach Francis

Syracuse, N.Y. -  The Syracuse field hockey team exploded for a season-high nine goals, including seven in the second half, in a 9-1 victory over Cornell Sunday afternoon at J.S. Coyne Stadium. The Orange, ranked number two in the country, had not scored more than five goals in a game this season, something it did in a 15 minute stretch midway through the second half.

With the victory, Syracuse stayed perfect on the season, pushing its record to 11-0.

Six players scored goals, including two each from Roos Weers, Emma Lamison, and Serra Degnan.

Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said it was great to spread the goal scoring around.

"It was awesome that we were able to get the offense clicking like that," she said. "It shows me that people that don't get as many minutes are listening in practice and are able to execute. That's really reassuring as we move into this second phase of our season."

Syracuse dominated all offensive aspects of the game, outshooting the Big Red (5-4, 1-1 Ivy) 27-5. The Orange also had 19 shots on goal compared to just three for Cornell. Syracuse also won the corner battle, drawing 10 corners to just two from Cornell.

"They were just able to connect," Bradley said of the offensive explosion. "Some days you have that. Today, it was just really good to get that out of this team."

Big Red Keeps it Close at the Half

Weers got the scoring started seven minutes into the game, scoring her ninth goal of the season, It looked like the offensive outburst would get started early, as Lamison scored her sixth goal less than three minutes later to give Syracuse a 2-0 lead.

"I just try to stay low and keep my stick down if I want to score," Lamison said. "I couldn't even see the ball on my first goal, I had my stick down and just kind of punched it in at the last moment."

But the score would hold there until the Big Red scored its only goal 59 seconds left in the first half, to pull within a goal at 2-1, at the break. Krysten Mayers scored the only Cornell goal on the afternoon.

Orange Blows it Open

The Orange didn't take long to respond after halftime with Degnan scoring her first goal of the afternoon, and only her second goal of the season, to push the lead back to two goals.

"I was just playing good hockey," Degnan said. "I don't know. It just came to me today and the team was really supportive. They gave me the ball and allowed me to be in key spots in key moments."

And Syracuse was just getting started there. Lamison added her second goal of the day with 20 minutes left to play. Less than five minutes later, Erin Gillingham scored her first career goal, pushing the Orange ahead 5-1.

At the 56 minute mark, Alma Fenne scored her seventh goal on the season to start a final flurry of goals by Syracuse, where the team would score four times in seven minutes. Emma Tufts, Weers, and Degnan added goals to push the game out of reach.

Next Up

Syracuse will return to conference action Friday night at No. 9 Louisville. The team will once again dip out of conference play next Sunday, playing at Indiana.


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