It seems fitting the Syracuse field hockey team’s final home game of the year would go into overtime. Fitting for a team that has failed to establish consistent play the whole season.

One game the Orangewomen play like they could win a Big East championship. The next they look as if a local high school team would have a chance against them.

So last night against a Cornell team that SU had not lost to since 1983, a streak which is older than several current Syracuse players, it was not surprising that the Orangewomen played inconsistent.

The first half they looked atrocious. The second half mediocre. In overtime, dominant.

Fortunately for Syracuse, the domination came at the right time as SU defeated the Big Red, 2-1, in double overtime. It was the first overtime game of the season for the Orangewomen.

‘We definitely came out flat and sloppy,’ senior Ann-Marie Guglieri said. ‘We picked it up after they scored their first goal.’

Syracuse picked up its play in overtime. Even though the Orangewomen hadn’t played in an overtime contest all season, they practice the situation at least once a week.

Field hockey overtime rules differ from those of regulation. Each team uses six players plus a goalie rather than the typical 10-on-10-plus-a-goalie setup. This leads to more open play and better scoring chances.

The Orangewomen took advantage of the overtime setup, controlling the ball for nearly the whole sudden-death period. After managing just one shot in the first half, SU took 12 in the second half and overtime.

‘We did a great job in overtime,’ head coach Kathleen Parker said. ‘We completely dominated the field. Everyone did a nice job. We moved Joanne (Lombard) up to midfielder from defender and she did a great job there holding the ball in.’

Overtime also changed Syracuse’s corner strategy. Typically, the Orangewomen use a direct-shot approach in which one player inserts the ball, a second player stops and a third player, usually either Lombard or Michelle Sola, shoots from the top of the circle. This formation resulted in Syracuse’s game-tying goal at the end of the second half.

In overtime, there is one less defender on the corner unit. Syracuse tried a give-and-go strategy, in which the Orangewomen tried to draw Cornell’s flier to the ball and then slip the ball to the right. This normally results in an open shot, but the Big Red defended the play well.

Syracuse finally ended the game 32 seconds into the second overtime when junior Lindsay Peirson slipped a ball pass Cornell goalie Kaitlin Tierney.

‘I was really happy considering we hadn’t been in an overtime situation yet this season,’ Parker said. ‘We really dominated, and whenever (Cornell) moved the ball up a little, Sola did a great job stopping their attack.’

This and that

Guglieri, who played her last game ever at Coyne Field, sat for the end of the second half and all of overtime. ‘There was no particular reason,’ Parker said. ‘I’ve never really used Ann-Marie in overtime. Her ball skills aren’t as strong, and in overtime, you’re trying to maintain possession.’… Late in the second half and into overtime, several SU students began doing the wave, jumping up and down in their seats and singing ‘The Hey Song.’ SU basketball center Craig Forth and several football players were among the rowdy supporters.

Published on October 29, 2003 at 12:00 pm