Syracuse Field Hockey Does Just Enough to Defeat Colgate

By Patrick Gunn

CitrusTV Field Hockey Beat Reporter

HAMILTON, N.Y. – There was an error on the scoreboard at one point in the fourth quarter of Syracuse Field Hockey’s matchup with Colgate. The scoreboard read that the Orange were leading the Raiders 7-1 when the score was actually 3-1. However, the score of Sunday’s game could have easily been as outrageous as the error had Syracuse executed on all of its opportunities.

Despite not reaching seven goals, No. 19 Syracuse (6-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) took advantage of enough of their opportunities to defeat Colgate (2-6, 0-1 Patriot League) 3-1 on Sunday. This may not have been the cleanest game, but the Orange got the bounce-back effort they needed following a difficult loss to Virginia on Friday.

With that loss as a factor, Head Coach Ange Bradley felt as though the Orange were playing with an “ACC hangover” against the Raiders.

“I think we were slow and sluggish and our rhythm wasn’t as tight as it was,” Bradley said about the team at the start to the game.

the Orange had to fight for every possession, despite dominating in shots with 21 compared to the Raider’s six. Colgate was constantly intercepting passes and pushing Syracuse as the Raider’s physical play drew 23 fouls and three green cards.

Colgate goaltender Anna Unger put up a fantastic effort in net from the Raiders. She made 12 saves while only allowing three goals in a game where she was constantly getting berated with shots left and right.

Despite the sluggish play at times, the Orange were clearly focused on recovering from the loss to Virginia by getting the win against the Raiders.

“For us, it’s a comeback, and a comeback is an opportunity to compete at a high level again together,” Bradley said. “It’s not about winning or losing, it’s coming back and competing the next day. If they aren’t focused, we’re not going to be very good if we’re not going to respect the next opponent up. Basically, we are our opposition every time we step on that field.”

Unlike Friday, the Orange were able to get the ball in the net when they needed to. They scored their first two goals of the game on penalty corners, an important development given their struggles on the corner against the ‘Hoos. Bradley credits this improvement to studying video and learning quickly.

“Little things make big things for and against you, and we were sloppy in a lot of the little things,” Bradley said. “We started to look at video yesterday and clean some of those things up.”

Offensively, Charlotte de Vries got back on track after being held scoreless against the Cavaliers. Shenot only scored the Orange’s first two goals of the game, but she also racked up 11 shots and ten shots on goal during the game. De Vries was all over the circle, finding her aggressive edge once again.

The final goal came from SJ Quigley, who also racked up three shots and two assists. Her goal came on a push off the baseline from Claire Cooke that Quigley executed well. She too was much more aggressive at the net and showed a newfound confidence in the circle.

“She runs hard, she’s an athlete and she just strikes the ball,” Bradley said. “She moves, she’s aggressive up there and really works hard off ball to get open. That’s what I like up there with her and she’s been doing a good job there.”

Bradley also gave some of her starters a rest as the head woman put 18 players into the game on Sunday. Syracuse has a short week coming up to prep for arguably their toughest game of the year. They travel to Durham to face a top-five Duke team on Friday at 5 p.m.

pagunn@syr.edu | patgunner_