Proulx shines; Offense sputters in Orange defeat in Raleigh

By Lucas Vogel

Stand-in CitrusTV Women’s Soccer Beat Reporter

Raleigh, N.C. – The sultan of saves, Lysianne Proulx saw 27 shots whizz by her in today’s game against Duke (7-1-1, 1-1-1). She only let in two. It wasa career-high for Proulx, but her heroic effort wouldn’t be enough as Syracuse (3-6-1, 0-3-0) fell in 90 minutes to the Blue Devils. 

The action started early as Proulx found herself under a flurry of shots early. Three saves in the first 18 minutes of action kept the score even, but it was all Duke early, as they dominated the time of possession, as well as the attack.

It looked inevitable Duke would fire one past the Orange, and it happened in the 28th minute of action. After a mad scramble for the ball in the Syracuse box, Lily Nabet found the ball at her feet, and sliced one off of a Syracuse defender’s head to get past the awaiting arms of Proulx.

Syracuse would hold strong until the half, committed to keeping it close, but the bend don’t break strategy again failed as in the 56 minute mark they conceded a goal to Maggie Graham.

Syracuse showed life in the last 20 minutes of play, but it was too little too late, and Duke took care of business securing the 2-0 win for the Blue Devils.

The game marked the Orange’s fourth loss in ACC play this season, and sixth straight game without the shiny “W” next to their name on the scoresheet. This game wasn’t an exception either, as Syracuse has only been able to muster one goal in the last six games, being shutout in five of them. 

The bad news doesn’t end there for Syracuse, as they look on to face the number one team in the nation in Florida State on Thursday at 7 PM. If the Orange are going to do anything, they need to continue to rely on Proulx, and find a way to sneak a goal past the Seminoles.

ljvogel@citrust.net | @ljvogel2