Can Things Be Different This Time Around in ACC Play for Syracuse Women’s Soccer?
By Cole Purvis | @Cole_Purvis
After an up-and-down start to its season in nonconference play, Syracuse women’s soccer finds itself sitting at 4-1-3. The Orange started off hot, beating Charleston Southern 5-0, fueled by grad student Ashley Rauch’s two goal, one assist performance. Then, SU cooled off, losing 2-1 to Niagara. A 4-0 win over Canisius got the Orange back on the right side of .500, and also saw goalie Shea Vanderbosch kick it into gear. ‘Cuse won 3-1 over Holy Cross, and then drew its next three games, a 1-1 result at Quinnipiac, and then scoreless ties against Princeton and Binghamton. This brought us to the final game of the nonconference slate, which Syracuse won convincingly over Cornell in a 3-0 shutout. It was the fifth clean sheet of the season for Vanderbosch, who is now less than 20 saves away from the all-time program record.
All things considered, Syracuse probably would’ve liked a better nonconference performance. These are the “layup” games on the schedule, against mid-major opponents. Based on her postgame reactions, coach Nicky Thrasher Adams felt some of those draws could’ve easily been wins.
If you’re a Syracuse fan, it would be understandable if you took a gulp after booking at this ACC schedule. It features six teams that made last year’s NCAA tournament, as well as Duke and North Carolina, who played in the Final Four. This SU program has struggled mightily during this part of the year. In fact, the Orange haven’t won a conference game since 2022. Last year, the only result picked up was in a 1-1 draw at home against NC State.
So can Syracuse turn the tide? To be frank, it’s hard to see a great reason as to why they will. ‘Cuse was dominated in terms of time of possession against teams like Princeton and Binghamton in recent games. The margin for error only becomes slimmer against some of the nation’s elite squads.
The first test goes down Thursday night, when SU hosts SMU at 7 p.m. For live updates, you can follow along on X @Cole_Purvis, as well as @CitrusTVSports.
