With three straight losses, the last thing the Syracuse field hockey team needed was a fourth to close the regular season.

SU avoided that fourth loss Wednesday night at Coyne Field with a 3-1 victory over visiting Colgate.

SU (11-8, 3-2 Big East) grabbed momentum early when Brittany Carriero earned a penalty corner four minutes in by splitting Colgate defenders. Joanne Lombard converted for her eighth goal.

The Orange couldn’t muster much else after that, often losing possession against a relentless man-to-man Raiders defense. Head coach Kathleen Parker spent much of the first 35 minutes with her hands on her head, not pleased with SU’s execution.

‘The easiest way to beat a man-to-man in hockey,’ she said, ‘is use the 60-yard width of the field and the 100-yard length and open up gaps so that you can cut in onto the ball.’

Instead, SU was caught playing in a crowded area along the sideline, playing within 5 yards rather than 60.

The Orange made the most of its halftime break, though, giving the coaches a chance to reiterate the game plan. SU opened the second half with more spacing and, consequently, more pressure. Sophomore Ashley Fry had two early opportunities and Carriero created another on her own.

At the 23-minute mark, the pressure paid off when Meredith Gettel intercepted a pass in the Colgate defensive end. The senior fed Paige Sullivan, who spun and uncorked a backhand high into the net past goalie Jacque DeMarco.

Colgate halved the score a minute later. Ashley Schneider converted a penalty corner that deflected over a helpless Betsy Wagner.

‘I knew that we couldn’t relax through the game,’ Parker said. ‘I think (the team) did understand; they didn’t take (Colgate) lightly.’

The Orange defense played its fourth game of the month without allowing more than one goal. Jess Wreski, Lindsay Kocher, Nikki Wojton and Jessica Dahle have been mainstays in the back, but Erin Fitzgerald got her first start of the season.

‘I felt badly,’ Parker said. ‘I probably should’ve started her on senior day, but this was her last home game, and I really wanted her to get a chance to come through the tunnel and just get out on the field and play.’

Fitzgerald – who started seven games last season but was injured most of this year – started over Wojton.

‘It must have been so nice for her,’ Fry said. ‘She’s got to feel so much better about herself. She’s been working so hard at practice.’

‘Erin’s replacement in the starting lineup has nothing to do with what Erin was doing wrong,’ Parker said. ‘It has more to do with Nikki taking advantage of Erin’s injury when she got hurt.’

The Orange has more than a week to prepare for its conference tournament semifinal game against Boston College. The tournament begins Nov. 5 and Syracuse is the host. The No. 2 seeded Orange beat the Eagles earlier this season, 2-1, in double overtime. Connecticut is the top seed and will face either Providence or Villanova. Providence gets the nod only with a win Saturday over the Huskies in its final regular-season game.

Published on October 27, 2004 at 12:00 pm