After being shut out in the first half against an inferior Columbia team, Syracuse field hockey coach Kathleen Parker had a simple message for her forwards.

Work harder or come out.

Junior forward Meredith Gettel took special exception to the message. She tallied two second-half goals to lead the Orangewomen to a 4-0 victory over the Lions at Coyne Field on Sunday.

‘I didn’t want to give (Parker) a reason to take me out,’ Gettel said. ‘She said the forwards needed to work harder, and I think it was evident that we did.’

The win, combined with Friday’s 3-2 victory over Central Michigan, gave the Orangewomen (3-3) their third straight win after losing their first three games. SU came out slow and failed to establish a consistent offense. Despite several scoring opportunities, Syracuse came up empty against the Lions (0-4) in the first half.

At the close of the half, Gettel had a hard shot turned away by Lions freshman goalie Kristina George, who had six saves.

But after halftime, Gettel quickly put the Orangewomen on the board for a 1-0 lead.

‘We had a lot of time and space to work with in the first half,’ Parker said. ‘We didn’t use it as well in the first half as we did in the second. We all knew we just had to put one in, and we’d probably relax. In the second half, they had to be exhausted because they played defense the entire game.’

With the Orangewomen holding possession of the ball for most of the game, Columbia failed to even record a shot. Junior goalie Betsy Wagner earned her first shutout of the season and second of her career. SU outshot Columbia, 19-0.

SU dominated the penalty corner game with its lengthy attacks. The Orangewomen had 12 corners while holding Columbia to zero.

With little pressure on the defensive end, sophomore defender Michelle Sola and senior Lindsay Kocher were able to carry the ball into the offensive zone, adding to the Orangewomen’s pressure.

‘Today we weren’t challenged defensively,’ Sola said. ‘Communication wise, we are working, so we don’t have to be challenged defensively. People know where they need to be, and we’ve been working on that in practice.’

Following Gettel’s goal, junior back Erin Fitzgerald picked up a loose ball in the circle. She found herself wide open in front of the cage and beat George to extend SU’s lead to 2-0.

Gettel then added her second goal before junior forward Leah McKay put the Lions away with just under four minutes left.

Redshirt freshman forward Megan Stuart has been in the starting lineup despite a nagging lower leg injury, which causes her to come out and rest every 10 minutes. Parker said Stuart will continue to play.

Despite being shut out in the first half, the Orangewomen insisted they are not just a second-half team. On the homestand, SU has outscored its opponents just 3-1 in the first half. The second half has been a different story, as Syracuse has outscored its opponents 12-2.

‘Today we didn’t come out playing like we usually do,’ Fitzgerald said. ‘At halftime, we just took the time to regroup, and we just came out on fire.’

Syracuse is off until Friday when it will conclude its first homestand with its Big East opener against Rutgers (3-4). Though only Big East matchups determine whether the Orangewomen qualify for the conference tournament, they say the focus remains the same for all opponents.

‘The Big East games mean a little more,’ Sola said, ‘because they’re what gets us into the tournament. But the focus still doesn’t change.’

Published on September 15, 2003 at 12:00 pm