Heartbreak in Durham
There is only one word to describe fifteenth-ranked Syracuse field hockey’s 1-0 defeat to Duke yesterday, heartbreak. The Orange would end up falling to the Blue Devils in penalty strokes 3-1. The loss marked the first overtime game of the season for SU. The extra frame was not nice to the Orange last year, with Syracuse sporting a 1-3 record in games that went past regulation. Down in Durham today, it was more of the same. But, how did SU push the game past 60 minutes and did they have a chance to win in regulation? Let’s dive into all of that and more.
In the first period, there was not much for either side. Each team would have three shots, with the best opportunity coming from Syracuse’s Berber Bakermans who pulled a shot just wide of the cage. Both teams were adjusting to each other’s play styles early on, leading to minimal chances.
Over in the second, it was all Blue Devils. Duke dominated Syracuse in the shot category 5-1, and had multiple prime chances in front of the cage to convert. The Blue Devil’s Alaina McVeigh nearly put Duke up 1-0 after a Syracuse APC chance around four minutes from halftime. Once the Blue Devil’s cleared the SU APC, Duke dashed down the field on the counter-attack giving McVeigh a breakaway chance with just goalkeeper Louise Pert to beat. McVeigh would ring her shot off the near post, keeping the game level heading into halftime.
After the break, it was once again McVeigh nearly scoring on Pert just under two minutes into the second half. Pert would make the save once again denying McVeigh. The goaltender finished with seven saves in the contest. From there on out, there wasn’t much for either team in regulation with the game heading to overtime.
Duke was more than familiar with OT this season heading into the extra frame, falling 2-1 in a shootout to tenth-ranked Saint Joseph’s two contests ago.
Syracuse’s Aiden Drabick had the best chance of the first overtime period. Drabick received a through ball from Hattie Madden and was in one on one with the goaltender but couldn’t handle the pass. With nobody scoring in the first overtime, that meant one more 10-minute period was to come.
In double overtime, it was Duke that had the chance to end the game. The Blue Devil’s Logan Clouser’s was in two on one with the cage starring her in the face, but Pert stepped up with a huge save to send the game to penalty strokes.
Once in penalty strokes, Duke would shoot first with Alaina McVeigh making it 1-0 Duke. Shockingly, the Blue Devils turned to their bench to put freshman Kaiya Chepow in the cage for the penalty shootout. Chepow had not played the whole game. Willemijn Boogert couldn’t respond for SU, giving the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage going into round two. In round two, Charlie van Oirschot scored for Duke, putting the Blue Devils up 2-0. This time Syracuse did respond, with Bo Madden beating Chepow to make it 2-1 at the end of round two. In round three, Duke’s Josephine Palde made it 3-1. Taja Gans failed to score for Syracuse, putting the Orange on the ropes trailing 3-1 at the end of round three. In the fourth round, Clouser would pull her shot wide giving SU a glimmer of hope. All of that was for not though, with Aiden Drabick losing control of the ball handing Duke the win 3-1 on penalty strokes.
Syracuse is back in action next on Friday at home against Louisville. Gametime is set for four.
