The Syracuse field hockey team’s bench knelt together with locking arms yesterday at Coyne Field. Assistant coach Amy Agulay turned her back to the scene and let sophomore Nikki Wojton watch the outcome as the two hugged.

The whole team watched with trepidation as Ashley Fry lined up for a penalty stroke.

Moments later, the arms unlocked, the hug was over and Agulay and the rest of the Orange celebrated Fry’s penalty-stroke goal, which gave the Orange a 2-1 overtime victory over Boston College.

The No. 9 Eagles are the third ranked team SU (5-4, 2-0 Big East) has beaten in the last week.

Syracuse beat No. 19 Hofstra last Sunday and No. 17 Penn State on Wednesday.

Unlike the 3-2 victory over Penn State, it looked like one goal would be enough for either side yesterday.

BC spent most of the first half in its offensive end, but SU’s stingy defense would only bend, not break.

With 22 minutes left in the second half, sophomore Meg Ryan started a breakaway down the field. Boston College knocked the ball away, but Brittany Carriero kept it from being cleared. That’s when Fry lined up a rocket from about 16 yards out that beat BC goalie Jillian Savoy for a 1-0 SU lead.

An Eagles timeout four minutes later changed the momentum, as the Orange was on its heels for much of the remaining time. BC earned a penalty stroke with 12 minutes left in the game, and senior Kerri Doherty beat Orange goalie Betsy Wagner high to even the score.

Syracuse had one more chance to win the game in regulation, but it could not cash in on a scramble in front of the net.

In the first overtime, the Orange spent the entire 15 minutes trying to hang on. The Eagles had five penalty corners.

But Wagner continuously gave up her body, diving in traffic to preserve the tie.

‘We had no right to get through that first overtime with as much as Boston College dominated it,’ head coach Kathleen Parker said. ‘(But) the defensive corner unit was phenomenal. They made Boston College work.’

Parker substituted often to keep fresh legs in the game. During the two-minute intermission, many girls sat and rehydrated.

The corner unit was used twice in the second overtime, as the Orange created some of its own scoring opportunities. This time, a quick restart worked, as Lindsay Peirson found Fry heading toward the net.

Savoy took Fry down, and the sophomore calmly knocked in the game winner.

Though she normally would shoot to the right side, she said she chose the left this time.

‘I was just thinking don’t miss because everyone was just so tired,’ Fry said.

Published on September 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm