Syracuse Wilts in Final Minutes, Loses Heartbreaker to Stanford

By Patrick Gunn

CitrusTV Field Hockey Beat Reporter

BERKELY, Calif. – Syracuse Field Hockey looked like it would escape the West Coast with two strong victories. Through 56 minutes, the SU defense held firm and kept a ranked Stanford team at bay, even when the Orange offense did not play up to par in yet another game.

But after the final four minutes, Syracuse left the field with more questions than answers.

The Cardinal’s Emma Alderton scored with just under a minute left in regulation as No. 16 Stanford (7-5, 1-0 American East) pulled out a miraculous 3-2 victory over No. 14 Syracuse (8-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast). This is Stanford’s first win against Syracuse in the past nine games of their series.

This loss can be chalked up to Stanford’s domination in the final frame after a physical game. The Cardinals outshot the Orange seven to  two in the fourth quarter after Syracuse held a three shot advantage in the previous three quarters. Frances Carstens tied the game with 3:50 to play, followed by three more Stanford shots before Alderton put the Cardinals up for good.

Fouls also played a key role in this game as Syracuse and Stanford combined for 28 with 14 fouls for each team. The Orange had played relatively clean games up until Saturday, only posting 83 fouls in the ten previous games. But, the Cardinals were able to use their physicality to frazzle the Orange and force a sloppy game.

This physicality also helped contain the Orange’s attack as Syracuse was held to its second-lowest shot total of the season with nine. Even superstar Charlotte de Vries was held to a season-low one shot after posting her first career hat trick against Cal on Friday. Syracuse is winless in both games de Vries has failed to score, the other loss coming against the Top-10 Virginia Cavaliers back on September 20th.

SU failed to take advantage of three penalty corners and four shots in the first quarter, but Claire Cooke got the Orange on the board just over six minutes into the second frame. Sarah Luby scored her second goal in two days to give the Orange a 2-1 lead in the third quarter, but that was not enough for a team that, once again, struggled to score.

The Orange return to J.S. Coyne Stadium on Saturday to face another tough test, welcoming the reigning national champions in the North Carolina Tar Heels.

pagunn@syr.edu | patgunner_