For the four Syracuse players hailing from New Jersey, a meeting with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights has a little more meaning.

So when Caitlyn Dragon, Gaddy Fortune, Allison Furstenburg and Jen Kasel took the Carrier Dome field on Friday, they were out for more than just a Big East win. They wanted to ensure they had bragging rights at home for at least another year.

The New Jersey natives took matters into their own hands, leading the No. 13 Orange to a 14-9 win. Dragon led Syracuse with four points, coming on three goals and one assist. Fortune scored twice and Furstenburg added one goal.

‘We played as well as we had to to win,’ said Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller. ‘This game is important to the New Jersey kids.’

It was even more important to Dragon. Although the others played to beat their home state’s university, Dragon had another incentive to win Friday’s game. Two Rutgers (4-8, 1-4) players, Katie Batiuk and Ashley Schauder, are from Dragon’s hometown of Jackson, N.J.

Dragon and Batiuk, Jackson Memorial High School teammates, jokingly traded barbs and insults before the game, but the competition didn’t stop there. Once on the field, the two effectively traded goals for much of the game, one trying to outdo the other. In the end, Batiuk got the best of Dragon with four goals, but Syracuse had the win.

‘I have a personal rivalry with Rutgers,’ Dragon said. ‘Every time we meet, I have extra incentive to win. We were trash talking on and off the field.’

Miller was pleased with the senior’s tactics, especially since that kind of intimidation didn’t seem likely from the soft-spoken attack. Dragon couldn’t help but smile when she spoke about the game.

While Syracuse points-leader Dragon had the best game out of the four SU (10-4, 3-1) players from New Jersey, the Orange received an additional boost from some unlikely sources.

Fortune, a sophomore from Long Branch, N.J., who hadn’t scored since March 2, responded immediately when she took the place of senior Monica Joines for portions of the second half.

She scored SU’s first goal of the game and added another four minutes later off a free position shot.

Furstenburg continued her emergence as another scoring threat for Syracuse. With input from so many players, the Orange became increasingly difficult to stop. Syracuse returned to a spread-out attack after depending on Dragon and Joines in SU’s last game against BC on April 16.

‘Rutgers is a very good defensive team,’ Miller said. ‘To score 14 goals against them is a good thing. To spread it out is a really good thing. It means they can’t key on anyone.’

The win helps Syracuse maintain its position in the Big East. SU is in second place, behind Georgetown.

‘It’s always important to win, but today it definitely was,’ said Syracuse sophomore Jill DePetris. ‘Rutgers is always out to get us.’

Published on April 24, 2005 at 12:00 pm