Syracuse Falls to NC State in Tight Battle
By Hudson Ridley | @Hudson_Ridley
Syracuse women’s soccer came up just short in a 2-0 loss to NC State on Thursday night. In most games in ACC play the Orange are outshot by a wide margin, but not this one. SU led in shots with 12 and equaled the Wolfpack in shots on goal with five apiece.
The Orange started off on the right foot. SU pressured high with an attacking duo of Lisell Odden and Ana Rupert. Both forwards caused so much disruption early on that NCST struggled with possession. When the Wolfpack did have the ball it was usually on a counterattack. Most counterattacks early on were fruitless for NCST, that was until minute 17. In an attempt to win the ball back in the box, Kylen Grant collided with freshman forward Hannah Jibrill. After Jibrill went to the ground a penalty was given and Grant was issued a yellow card. Upon further review, there wasn’t enough indisputable evidence to reverse the call, and the penalty was awarded. Jibrill stepped up to the spot and fired right side. Goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch guessed the correct direction and got a hand to it, but it wasn’t enough to keep the ball out.
For a majority of the contest, both offenses would stagnate. SU generated pressure through long runs from Erin Flurey, good hold-up play from Ana Rupert, and a lot of activity from Raia James. The Orange didn’t make it easy on the Wolfpack’s freshman goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas, but in the end, the keeper held up.
The dagger came in the 86th minute. Jameese Joseph moved the ball down the left sideline, when a defender came to challenge she did a “Maradona” spin move to free herself. With that, the break was on. Joseph dribbled all the way to the box and played a low cross. Annika Wohner took advantage and powered home a shot to give the Wolfpack an insurmountable two-goal lead.
With that loss, SU drops to 2-12-2 with a 0-7-1 record in conference play. The Orange have just two games remaining to find an ACC win. The first of those two comes on Sunday when the ‘Cuse take on third-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
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