Syracuse, N.Y. - The 2008 Syracuse field hockey team was the best in program history, but not any more. This year's team moved past that squad with a 4-2 come from behind victory over No. 19 Princeton Sunday afternoon at J.S. Coyne Stadium. With the victory, the No. 1 ranked Orange improved to 15-0 on the season."We had moments today where we played really good," head coach Ange Bradley said. "Princeton came out of the gates strong. I think they wanted something a little bit more than we did. But to start the second half we knew we had to do something to get back in the game."
On Senior day, it was a freshman who scored the biggest goal of the afternoon, when Roos Weers sent one into the left corner off a corner penalty to put the Orange ahead 2-1. Off the hit in, Weers got the ball and made a pass to senior Alma Fenne who then passed to sophomore Lies Lagerweij. She took the defenders to the middle of the field and fired a shot back to Weers who put the ball in the goal between the goalie's legs.
"It's always great when you score, but its even better when you're able to put the team ahead," Weers said. "It was a team goal though. We did a good job by executing it.
Weers had gone down earlier in the game with a knee injury with the Orange down 1-0. After lying on the field for a couple of minutes, Weers left under her own power and re-entered the game about five minutes later.
Almost instantly, she provided a spark, assisting on the first Syracuse goal of the afternoon, a shot by senior Emma Russell.
Tigers Control Early
Just one game after scoring five goals in the first half against Wake Forest, the Orange offense came out flat, assisted by a strong Princeton defense that set the tone early. Much of the first half of the game was played in the midfield or in the Princeton zone.
The Tigers outshot the Orange 7-3 in the first half in taking a 1-0 lead into the break. Freshman Jane Donio-Enscoe put a goal past Syracuse senior goalkeeper Jess Jecko with three minutes left in the first half to give the Tigers the advantage.
The 1-0 deficit at halftime was just the third time this season Syracuse trailed at the break.
"We lost the first half," Weers said. "We knew we had to work harder to bring this win home. Princeton was just better than we were in the first half."
Senior Day
Four players, seniors Jecko, Russell, and Alyssa Manley along with graduate student Alma Fenne were honored in a pregame ceremony for their time in an Orange uniform before their final home game.
"What really sticks out to me about this group are the intangible pieces, you can't say enough about this class," Bradley said. "They've done so much for this program, I'm going to miss them all."
Manley, who scored a goal on a stroke to put the final margin at 4-2 said Weers wanted her to have her moment.
"It's usually me or Roos (Weers) who take the strokes, and she came up to me and told me I had to take it." Manley said. "She said to me 'You're going to take it and make it.' It was a nice touch to get to score on my senior day."
On the Road
Syracuse will play on the road the rest of the season, closing out the regular season Oct. 24 at No. 5 Duke. Then, the team will play in the ACC tournament in Charlottesville, Virginia, where it is the number one seed.
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