The Syracuse women’s soccer team came into last night’s game expecting to have trouble with Albany’s defense-heavy style of play.

So much for that.

The Orangewomen managed to get off a record-breaking 41 shots against Albany en route to a 4-0 victory over their in-state rivals.

‘We were expecting them to come out with this defensive front and they did,’ senior Megan Huez said. ‘It just took a little time and then the goals just started coming. We adjusted to it really well.’

The Orangewomen (6-2-0, 1-2-0 Big East) broke a record from a 1998 game against Providence. Yet, despite the high number of attempts, Albany’s scheme worked somewhat. With only one striker, Albany’s other 10 players focused on filling its defensive box, making it tough to sneak the ball past and into the net.

‘It was annoying. It really was,’ senior Nina Scalzo said. ‘What did we have, 35 (41) shots? And we only scored on four of them. Every time we had the ball there were four or five people around you.’

But Scalzo is reluctant to give credit to Albany’s scheme.

‘When we took our shots, either we weren’t focused, or we weren’t getting them on goal,’ she said. ‘When we were hitting it on goal, we were hitting it right to the keeper. We just needed to place it better. We were connecting on our crosses and we just didn’t finish our opportunities.’

For Albany (0-7-1), though, the high number of players in the box led to some confusion at its own end. SU’s second goal, credited to Helen Fox, was actually knocked in by a Great Dane defender who was unable control the ball.

Despite SU’s offensive inaccuracies, it was able to dominate every aspect of the game thanks to stellar defensive play and Albany’s weak offensive attack.

‘What they were hoping would happen was that they would catch us off-guard as our outside backs moved up,’ Huez said. ‘But every chance that they had, the defense stopped them. The two defensive backs in the middle just marked their forward and that worked really well.’

It worked so well, in fact, that Albany never crossed into SU’s box nor attempted a single shot for the entire game, allowing for SU’s goalie tandem of Emily Kowalczyk and Jenelle Ferri to combine for a shutout without either of them needing to make a save.

As the game went on, SU was able to substitute in many of its replacements. Only four players on the roster failed to make an appearance, and three of those players have been dealing with nagging injuries.

‘They came in and played great,’ junior Kelly Bailie said. ‘We have so much depth that we could put anyone from our team in and they’d do well.’

For the entire team, though, the victory certainly boosted confidence.

‘I’ve never been in a game like that,’ Scalzo said. ‘It’s fun. Coming out being so defensive you know they’re trying to protect something. They’re not going for the win when they come out like that. They’re going for a tie.’

Published on September 25, 2003 at 12:00 pm