Season In Review: Women’s Soccer
By Collin Davies | @DaviesCollin
CitrusTV Women’s Soccer Beat Reporter
Syracuse Women’s Soccer ended their season on Thursday night in a regular season draw against NC State. That means no postseason for them, but there are a whole lot of positives that can be drawn from this season.
The Orange got their first winning season in a decade sitting at 8-7-3. That is a milestone accomplishment for Head Coach Nicky Adams, who just finished her fourth year at the helm. For college coaches, that fourth year is the year that will show how the program has changed because it’s a full cycle of their player’s four years of eligibility. This season showed definitive evidence that Adams is moving the program in the right direction.
The potential that the team showed this year, could’ve flipped a few more games their way and put them in the NCAA or ACC tournament. Those games included 1-0 losses to then No. 3 Duke and No. 3 UNC, as well as a 1-1 draw with then No. 2 UVA. Those close matches with top teams exemplify how close the program is to getting into the ACC and NCAA tournament and being a top-25 team in the nation. Those games, plus an ACC win and a few other ACC ties are results that the program has struggled to get in the past, but now they’ve achieved them.
There are two sides to this team, with one being the students in their last year, and the underclassmen. The players who’ve now played their last game in the orange are Jenna Tivnan, Chelsea Domond, Blue Ellis, and Michaela Walsh.
Tivnan was the captain of this year’s squad and was at the program before Adams took over. She was the leader of the team and orchestrated everything from the back line. Those shoes are going to be big to fill.
Domond finished the season as the leading goal scorer. She provided a spark offensively that few others in the NCAA could create.
Ellis was added to the starting lineup midway through the season, and paired with Domond, she created a whole new threat up top to make the duo dynamic.
Walsh helped mentor Shea Vanderbosch after her injury.
The other side of this team is the 19 underclassmen who made up the majority of the starting lineup. Those players are going to have 2-3 more years to get better. They’ve already shown they can compete in the ACC, so the only question is if they can consistently win in Division 1’s top conference.
One of those young players is freshman goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch. Syracuse had Lysianne Proulx in net for years, and it seems like Vanderbosch can not only replace her, but actually be even more of a presence. The GK already ranks fourth in save percentage in the ACC.
So, what are the expectations for next season? That answer is simple: getting into the NCAA and ACC tournaments. That would continue the upward trend and make Syracuse a recruiting hotspot for soccer. Either way, the future is bright for the Syracuse Women’s Soccer program.
