The Drought Is Over: Syracuse Women’s Soccer Wins 1-0 at Miami, Its First ACC Win in Three Years

By Cole Purvis | @Cole_Purvis

CORAL GABLES, F.L. – Let’s take a trip back to September 25, 2022. On this day, Syracuse women’s soccer defeated Miami 3-1. Then a redshirt freshman, midfielder Ashley Rauch recorded a goal to help push the Orange past the Hurricanes. Three years later, Rauch would play a role in torching Miami again.

After that game, SU went the next 1,112 days without an ACC victory. That is, until tonight, when ‘Cuse broke its long drought against none other than Miami, the last conference opponent it had beat, winning 1-0 in Coral Gables. Rauch assisted the lone goal of the contest, finding senior Mia Klammer to give Syracuse the advantage.

From the start, this game had a different feel than SU’s other ACC ventures. Defender Anna Croyle recorded two shots in the opening few minutes of the game. Although both were off target, it kickstarted the offense, setting the tone for the later goal.

UM goalie Emily Bredek continued to be peppered, as SU shot the ball eight times in the first 45
minutes. Her team only had four shots.

The tipping point for Syracuse in past ACC matches has been poor second halves. SU had allowed eight second half goals in its six conference games. It had played teams tough for the first frame, but let things slip away in the second. Early on, Miami flexed its offensive muscle, ripping off the first three shots of the half. However, Syracuse weathered the storm.

In the 78th minute, Ashley Rauch won a ball in the midfield, playing it down and charging toward the goal. The grad student found a streaking Mia Klammer down the right wing, and found her teammate perfectly with the pass. Klammer calmly received the pass, and shot low to the left side of the goal. Bredek dove to her right, but could not make the stop, making it 1-0 Syracuse. This was just the second lead against a conference opponent for the Orange. Last time, they did not hold on. This time would be different.

Miami midfielder Ciara Alarcon had two shots on goal in the final couple minutes, but both were off the mark. The ‘Canes were not accurate enough, only forcing SU goalie Shea Vanderbosch to make one save.

The clock expired, and Syracuse became victorious against a conference opponent for the first time since that triumphant day in September, 2022. Fittingly, Klammer and Rauch, two veterans and leaders, teamed up for the score. It’s a huge sigh of relief for the Orange, who lost a controversial match against Clemson last weekend in which the Tigers scored on a free kick with six seconds left in the game.

Syracuse is back in action this Sunday against Boston College at home. For live updates and coverage, follow @Cole_Purvis on X.