Sunday, March 26, 2017
Syracuse loses at Home to Notre Dame - Pictures
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Notre Dame defeated Syrac use 16-7 in women's lacrosse at the Carrier Dome. Here is a look at the game in photos by DontaeHarris. Click on any picture to start slide show.
Orange Women Unable To Take The Fight Out of The Irish
By Andrew Leffler
Photo courtesy Cuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Notre Dame's Fighting Irish came into the Carrier Dome on a three-game losing streak, Sunday and proceeded to blow out the host Orange women
16-7. The Irish took a 7-4 lead into halftime than ran away in the second half building the lead to 12-4 and there was no coming back for Syracuse
"Our seniors came out and won us today, Notre Dame head coach Christine Halfpenny said. "They remembered how awesome it felt to win in the Dome, because it doesn't happen very often. I don't know what stat we have out here, but Syracuse doesn't lose in the Dome very often. So you come here and already know that, so when things start to break your way, realistically, we rely on our preparation."
"You play a good team like Notre Dame, who are fighting for their lives, coming off three losses, and they came here with tons of energy, fired up," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. "Backs against the wall, and they got the best of us today, but the good thing is, the season is not over, wasn't a playoff game, it was a conference game. Just gives us more to work on."
Not so Sweet Homecoming
The last time the Syracuse Orange women were at the Dome was March 5, when they defeated the University of Virginia 16-15. Since then, Syracuse had back-to-back losses at number one-ranked Maryland (17-7) and number three-ranked Florida (19-12), and a 16-15 overtime win against Harvard on a neutral site in Winter Park, Florida.
The 15th-ranked Fighting Irish were ready for an upset, and their play proved it. A last second goal in the first half gave the Fighting Irish that 7-4 lead. Their second half run was aided by three man-up goals while SU's Nicole Levy served a non-releasable penalty for an illegal stick. But the Irish pretty much had their way even with both teams at full strength.
"It looked like we lacked a little bit of intensity,"Gait said. "Lack in communication and chemistry out there. And then we're not flowing between offense and defense. We couldn't stop them in the end, and unfortunately we couldn't capitalize on that stop."
The Upset
Any spectator that doesn't know or follow lacrosse could have walked in the Dome and easily thought that Notre Dame was the 4th best team in the country.
The teams finished the game with 30 shots each, but Notre Dame picked up five more ground balls than Syracuse (20-15).
Another difference maker was the free-position shots. While Notre Dame had six compared to Syracuse's 10, Notre Dame went 4 of 6 on free-position shots, versus Syracuse executing only 3 of the 10.
Fighting Irish Kept Fighting
"I think they tried a couple of different defensives," Halfpenny said. "They were in their man, they were in their zone, but really I think it was just a bit more about us being a little bit more deliberate and disciplined on offense."
Halfpenny credited her seniors for carrying the team and setting the tone all game long.
Notre Dame's Cortney Fortunato finished with a game high four points, scoring three goals and getting one assist.
Luck of The Irish
Notre Dame's goal had a brick wall in front of it. This brick wall came in the form of sophomore goalie, Samantha Giacolone, who recorded 13 saves, compared to Syracuse's Asa Goldstock's 9.
"I've been working a lot on position shots," Giacolone said after the game.
"I got thrown in a lot this week in position shots because they're not my strong suit. But I think just being proactive, reactive, being quick with my hands and having my body follow. They're going to throw whatever they want on me but it's all up to me focusing on the ball. And I know they're going to go for my left side, and I baited a little bit, but it goes both ways, and today it went my way."
Giacolone mentioned getting lucky, which Coach Halfpenny disagreed with.
"I don't think our kids were lucky today," she said.
"I think they took all of their preparation, and made sure destiny was in their hands, battling and winning the ground balls, or battling on the draw because Syracuse has been very strong on the draw. Today we threw a different defensive look at Syracuse and I don't think they prepared for the style that we played today."
Syracuse scored seven goals, taking 30 shots. Giacolone made 13 saves. Do the arithmetic, and Syracuse had 20 shots that hypothetically would have gone in the net. Giacolone made sure 13 of those 20 did not.
Look Ahead
As Gait said, the season isn't over and the team has a lot to work on. The Orange women are 8-3 (2-1 ACC), and will head to Princeton on March 29, where they will face a strong Tigers team. The Irish are 9-4 (3-1 ACC) and go home to South Bend to host second-ranked North Carolina April 2.
Photo courtesy Cuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Notre Dame's Fighting Irish came into the Carrier Dome on a three-game losing streak, Sunday and proceeded to blow out the host Orange women
16-7. The Irish took a 7-4 lead into halftime than ran away in the second half building the lead to 12-4 and there was no coming back for Syracuse
"Our seniors came out and won us today, Notre Dame head coach Christine Halfpenny said. "They remembered how awesome it felt to win in the Dome, because it doesn't happen very often. I don't know what stat we have out here, but Syracuse doesn't lose in the Dome very often. So you come here and already know that, so when things start to break your way, realistically, we rely on our preparation."
"You play a good team like Notre Dame, who are fighting for their lives, coming off three losses, and they came here with tons of energy, fired up," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. "Backs against the wall, and they got the best of us today, but the good thing is, the season is not over, wasn't a playoff game, it was a conference game. Just gives us more to work on."
Not so Sweet Homecoming
The last time the Syracuse Orange women were at the Dome was March 5, when they defeated the University of Virginia 16-15. Since then, Syracuse had back-to-back losses at number one-ranked Maryland (17-7) and number three-ranked Florida (19-12), and a 16-15 overtime win against Harvard on a neutral site in Winter Park, Florida.
The 15th-ranked Fighting Irish were ready for an upset, and their play proved it. A last second goal in the first half gave the Fighting Irish that 7-4 lead. Their second half run was aided by three man-up goals while SU's Nicole Levy served a non-releasable penalty for an illegal stick. But the Irish pretty much had their way even with both teams at full strength.
"It looked like we lacked a little bit of intensity,"Gait said. "Lack in communication and chemistry out there. And then we're not flowing between offense and defense. We couldn't stop them in the end, and unfortunately we couldn't capitalize on that stop."
The Upset
Any spectator that doesn't know or follow lacrosse could have walked in the Dome and easily thought that Notre Dame was the 4th best team in the country.
The teams finished the game with 30 shots each, but Notre Dame picked up five more ground balls than Syracuse (20-15).
Another difference maker was the free-position shots. While Notre Dame had six compared to Syracuse's 10, Notre Dame went 4 of 6 on free-position shots, versus Syracuse executing only 3 of the 10.
Fighting Irish Kept Fighting
"I think they tried a couple of different defensives," Halfpenny said. "They were in their man, they were in their zone, but really I think it was just a bit more about us being a little bit more deliberate and disciplined on offense."
Halfpenny credited her seniors for carrying the team and setting the tone all game long.
Notre Dame's Cortney Fortunato finished with a game high four points, scoring three goals and getting one assist.
Luck of The Irish
Notre Dame's goal had a brick wall in front of it. This brick wall came in the form of sophomore goalie, Samantha Giacolone, who recorded 13 saves, compared to Syracuse's Asa Goldstock's 9.
"I've been working a lot on position shots," Giacolone said after the game.
"I got thrown in a lot this week in position shots because they're not my strong suit. But I think just being proactive, reactive, being quick with my hands and having my body follow. They're going to throw whatever they want on me but it's all up to me focusing on the ball. And I know they're going to go for my left side, and I baited a little bit, but it goes both ways, and today it went my way."
Giacolone mentioned getting lucky, which Coach Halfpenny disagreed with.
"I don't think our kids were lucky today," she said.
"I think they took all of their preparation, and made sure destiny was in their hands, battling and winning the ground balls, or battling on the draw because Syracuse has been very strong on the draw. Today we threw a different defensive look at Syracuse and I don't think they prepared for the style that we played today."
Syracuse scored seven goals, taking 30 shots. Giacolone made 13 saves. Do the arithmetic, and Syracuse had 20 shots that hypothetically would have gone in the net. Giacolone made sure 13 of those 20 did not.
Look Ahead
As Gait said, the season isn't over and the team has a lot to work on. The Orange women are 8-3 (2-1 ACC), and will head to Princeton on March 29, where they will face a strong Tigers team. The Irish are 9-4 (3-1 ACC) and go home to South Bend to host second-ranked North Carolina April 2.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Syracuse v Duke
Photos by Ashley Moore
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It wasn't Batman dancing "with the devil in the pale moonlight," but Orange men dancing with the Blue Devils on an early Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome.
It was not basketball, but lacrosse and 11th-ranked Duke seeking to be the Joker and upset 5th-ranked Syracuse. But in the same building where the Orange basketball team had upset favored Duke just over a month earlier, the Blue Devils fell just of returning the favor, losing in overtime 12-11.
The win puts Syracuse's streak to four and marks its sixth straight game decided by one goal.
"Another W for us in overtime," head coach John Desko said. "Hopefully we'll be able to draw from our experiences to help us in these situations."
Devils Came Ready To Battle
Duke dominated the first half statistically but led just 6-5 at the break.Leading scorer Jack Bruckner had two of his four goals in the first half (29 goals this season) and finished the game with five points, adding an assist in the mix. Rowe was 11 of 13 in face-offs heading into halftime. Duke had two more shots on goal (19) than Syracuse (17), and picked up 13 ground balls and keep Syracuse to under 10 ground balls (9).
"Congrats to Duke," Desko said in his postgame press conference. "I thought they played a hell of a game and they really came ready for play at the Carrier Dome.
A freshman finishes it
Syracuse shut out the Blue Devils in the third period and took an 8-6 lead, only to see the Blue Devils go on a 5-1 run in the fourth and grab an 11-9 lead.
Brandon Bomberry cut the Duke lead to one and then Nick Mariano's 15th goal of the season tied it with 1:26 to go in regulation.
The 7,309 fans in attendance were roaring as Duke had the final possession, but did not score resulting in sudden death overtime.
Duke face-off specialist, Kyle Rowe, who won 16 of 26 face-offs, gave Duke the early possession in overtime, but a quick turnover in Duke territory allowed Syracuse to capitalize. Freshman Jamie Trimboli ripped the shot into the net, giving Syracuse the win.
Battle at the X
"Rowe was tremendous today," Desko said. "He really does a great job getting the ball out to himself. I don't know how many ground balls he had, but I'm sure it was a bunch, and that's what makes him so dangerous."
Syracuse face-off specialist Ben Williams has been regarded as one of the best in the country, and Duke's Rowe was able to shut him down the majority of the game.
"Going up against him, he's a fantastic athlete," Rowe said. "He's much more than just a 'face-off guy,' so you have to prepare for that aspect and know it's going to be a fight. Other than that, it comes down to wing play, boxing out, and fighting for ground balls. To beat him, it takes a team effort."
Even though Duke finished the game with five more ground balls than Syracuse (25-20), and a dominant face-off performance, it wasn't enough to maintain the two goal lead in the closing minutes of the fourth period.
Saving and scoringBoth goalies made six saves.
Syracuse's Nick Mariano and Sergio Salcido both finished the game with four points. Mariano scored three goals and dished out an assist, and Salcido scored two goals and handed out two assists.
Mariano has 10 career points against Duke.
"It's like any game," he said afterwards. "You try to play every game like it's your last, like you'll never play again, but we stepped up when we needed to. Duke is always a good team to play against, they're well coached, and I just think we were able to come out on top today."
Even in almost every way
After four periods of play, and a minute of overtime, Duke and Syracuse each had 33 shots on goal, but it was that one shot in overtime that was the difference maker.
Overtime began with a Rowe face-off win, nothing new during the course of the game, but it was that critical turnover on Duke's side of the field that set up Trimboli.
"I guess the pass was for Nick," he admitted, with Mariano seated to his right. "But I caught it, and I rolled, and the guy fell over my shoulder, saw open space, and kinda shot the ball as a hard as I could."
.
Irish on tap
Besides the win against Duke extending Syracuse's win streak to four, it was also the fourth straight win decided by one goal, and the fifth of the season. SU's only loss also game by one goal to Army. The Orange are now 6-1, and will head to South Bend to face second-ranked Notre Dame April 1, while the Orange women will play Notre Dame Sunday at noon in the Carrier Dome.
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