A Look Into Shea Vanderbosch’s Historic Game vs. FSU
By Hudson Ridley | @hudson_ridley
Syracuse women’s soccer goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch has been nothing short of incredible since joining the squad in 2022. Vanderbosch’s impressive freshman campaign secured her a spot on the ACC all-freshman team. In her second year as SU’s net-minder, she hasn’t lost a step. Facing more shots, but making more saves than ever.
No game exemplified her current season more than Syracuse’s matchup with the number three team in the nation, Florida State, on September 21st. The Seminoles possess one of the swiftest, most talented, and relentless attacks in the NCAA. Couple that with the fact that SU’s defense, and whole lineup for that matter, has been significantly held back by injuries.
With all the cards stacked against Vanderbosch, she delivered one of the greatest performances by a Syracuse keeper ever. The sophomore faced an incredible 32 shots from FSU, 19 of which were on goal. That set the season high for the Seminoles in both categories. Despite that, Vanderbosch kept SU in the game the entire time. When the dust settled, Shea ended with a career-high 16 saves. The second most in program history and the most since 2004.
Syracuse was either in front of or tied with Florida State for the first 84 minutes of the contest. The Seminoles struggling to take the lead with 32 shots is an impressive enough stat for Vanderbosch, but when you take a look at her offensive help, it can make your head spin. The Orange tallied just one shot on goal all game, via a Liesel Odden tap-in goal in the second minute. After that, it was crickets for SU.
Even though Syracuse fell 3-2 in the end, the importance of that performance wasn’t lost on Vanderbosch.
“I couldn’t do it without my teammates, many clear’s off the line,” said Vandersboch after the game, “but I felt like I needed to put my best foot forward for number three in the country.”
With that historic performance, Shea has comfortably cemented herself into the Syracuse women’s soccer record books. 16 saves places her right ahead of both Courtney Brosnan and Lysianne Proulx. Brosnan and Proulx both started in net for Ireland and Canada respectively in the 2023 World Cup. Shea has the chance to keep joining a company like that with each passing game. Right now SU’s net-minder is on pace for 110 saves this season, which would rank second for a single season from any Syracuse keeper ever. Looking at the bigger picture, Vanderbosch is on pace for 351 career saves if she plays all four years. That would beat out Courtney Brosnan for the single most in the history of the program.
Vanderbosch and the Orange are back in action on Saturday, September 30th when SU travels to play Clemson.
For coverage on Syracuse women’s soccer follow both @hudson_ridley and @citrustvsports on X and Threads.
