SU Opens Road Trip With 2-0 Loss to UMass
By Hudson Ridley | @Hudson_Ridley
Syracuse Women’s soccer got off to a rocky start on its five-game road trip with a 2-0 loss to UMass.
The Minutewomen came out of the gate firing. A relentless high press generated a wealth of opportunities for UMass attackers. One of those opportunities came in the third minute. A high arching cross toward the back post went untouched by everyone in a white Minutewomen jersey. Unfortunately for the Orange, a defender was in the wrong place at the wrong time to put in an own goal and set SU behind 1-0 early.
It wasn’t long until UMass added to its tally. In the 13th minute, Nia Hislop sprinted down the right wing passing Syracuse defenders as she worked into the attacking third. A heavy touch convinced Shea Vanderboch to come 20-plus yards out of her net and challenge Hislop for control of the ball. The sophomore winger was unphased and played a long ball across the field to Ashley Lamond, who with one tap put the Minutewomen ahead by two.
Those two mistakes were far too much to overcome for Syracuse on a day when the offense stalled. The Orange fired five shots on target on the day, none of which troubled senior keeper Bella Mendoza. Beyond the 13th minute, the game slowed down for the Orange. To start the second half, SU had the lion’s share of possession in the attacking third, but couldn’t generate pressure on the net. With Nicky Thrasher Adams’ usual approach of taking chances from outside the 18-yard box, the Orange haven’t had a lot of problems with shot total or quality so far this season, outside of a few moments against Delaware in week one.
Game number two of SU’s five-game road trip is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday when the Orange travel to Ithaca to take on Cornell. Syracuse has never dropped a game to Big Red with a 10-0-3 record all-time.
