Women’s Soccer Bounces Back in a Big Way with a 4-1 Win over Lafayette
By: Collin Davies | @DaviesCollin
CitrusTV Women’s Soccer Beat Reporter
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Syracuse dominated Lafayette 4-1 tonight. The Orange pressed and pressed all game long, seeing the result through.
The night was full of highlights as well, with the most spectacular of them being the opening goal from Syracuse defender Kate Murphy. Murphy scored an Olimpico goal in the 15th minute to open the flood gates. The Olimpico is when a player scores directly off a corner kick with no one touching it.
SU did not stop there with scoring off corner kicks. In the 30th minute, Murphy assisted an Erin Flurey header off a corner. Flurey was able to score near post, while the Leopard goalkeeper, Natalie Neumann was screened. Lafayette couldn’t deal with the chaos involved in set piece plays and it costed them two goals early.
Lafayette was just trying to end the half without conceding again, but their wish would not be granted. Midfielder Pauline Machtens was able to dice up a defender and score from eight yards out just a minute before halftime.
The Leopards were forced to make changes at the half, and the biggest decision was to pull the goalie, and put in their starter from last year, Lindsay Dewar. That was the result of Syracuse scoring on fifty percent of their shots on target in the first period of play.
However, SU kept the pressure in the second half resulting in a 66th minute goal. Anna Rupert received a brilliant pass from Ashley Rauch right in front of the goal and had no problem passing it by Dewar.
Outside of the abundance of goalscoring, a glaring positive from Syracuse out of this game was the steady defending and goalkeeping. GK Michaela Walsh was not able to play this game and Shea Vanderbosch was the player called to step up. She answered the call by only allowing one goal. The goal came off the head of her own defender on a corner in the 80th minute. That was the only blemish on the day for the Orange.
Playing like this should make SU’s next game against Siena end in a similar result. That game is Sunday at 1 p.m.
