Reflecting On An Unusual Season
By Ben Spector
CitrusTV’s Field Hockey Beat Reporter
This season was unlike any other for the No. 11 Syracuse Field Hockey team. The season extended into the spring; there were only three home games, and SU dealt with four cancellations. With a bumpy road, the Orange finished the season with an even record at 8-8 and was 4-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The spring season had some nice surprises for the Syracuse attack. After contributing nothing offensively on the stat sheet in the fall, forwards Pleun Lammers and Chiara Gutsche combined for 5 goals in the first 3 games of the spring. The sophomore and the senior offered SU more versatility and flexibility upfront.
However, that didn’t carry over in the final four games. Lammers only scored one goal after the third game of the spring, and Gutsche didn’t put a ball in the back of the net after two goals against Towson early. Gutsche is a senior, but Lammers, a sophomore, should still be a key piece for the offense in the future.
The Orange had a similar issue in the spring that they had in the fall: trouble with the ACC. Syracuse had six total losses in conference play, four of which came in the last four games of the season.
In SU’s defense, the ACC is stacked. In last week’s NFHCA Poll, four teams were in the top ten, including top-ranked North Carolina. The games were close too, as three of those four games went into overtime. To snag those victories next season, SU needs to be more opportunistic and take advantage of its chances.
Something to note in spring was the rise of freshman goalie Emily Streib. The German only gave up on average 1.75 goals per game and made 12 saves in 7 games. The Orange threw the freshman into the fire as the only goalie on the roster, and she kept Syracuse in some close games. Ultimately, SU couldn’t get on top in the final stretch.
Syracuse went 3-4 in the spring, but that was good enough to finish the entire year ranked eleventh in the country. In an unusual year, that is certainly something to be proud of.
bespector@syr.edu | @bespector
