The Orange had been here before. Clinging to a one-goal lead in the second half against Binghamton, the Syracuse women’s soccer team could not fend off the Bearcats in the closing minutes on Wednesday and settled for a 1-1 tie.

But Sunday’s story would have a different ending. The Orange didn’t allow Portland State to sniff the goal in the final minutes at Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium in Champaign, Ill., and held on for the 1-0 victory, its first win of the season.

Orange head coach Pat Farmer said his team had to move on from the Binghamton game to maintain the lead against Portland State in the Illini Tournament.

‘I don’t think you want them thinking backward,’ Farmer said. ‘You want them focused on this game and you don’t want them to be tentative.’

Redshirt freshman Sara Grimsgaard gave the Orange (1-4-1) the lead just 28:46 into the game when she blasted a shot from 28 yards away into the back of the net. The goal gave SU its second lead of the season and the first it would hold onto for the game’s entirety.

Farmer didn’t want his team thinking about Binghamton but he said he was interested to see if the Orange reacted differently in the final minutes against Portland State (0-5-1).

‘They played very differently (against the Vikings),’ Farmer said. ‘They controlled the ball in the offensive end and it was very frustrating for Portland State.’

Unlike the Binghamton game, the Orange did not play defensively in the second half against Portland State. SU continued to move the ball forward and didn’t allow Portland State to find many scoring opportunities.

The Vikings tallied 13 shots on the Orange but freshman goalie Eliza Bennett-Hattan was only forced to make four saves. Farmer said most of those saves were balls struck directly at the young goaltender.

‘One of our problems is that we hang back,’ Farmer said. ‘I think at Binghamton they sat back and tried to protect the lead. We want them defending forward to keep opponents from getting opportunities.’

It was not easy for Syracuse to continue to put pressure on the Vikings late in the game considering its difficult road schedule over the past week. The Orange played three games in five days beginning on Wednesday. The team traveled by bus to Binghamton on Wednesday then flew to Illinois on Thursday. The hectic travel schedule took its toll on the Orange by the end of the week.

Now that passengers are no longer able to carry liquids on airplanes, athletes face a new challenge on the road. SU players were able to drink small bottles of water on the plane but after four-and-a-half hours of travel some struggled to stay as hydrated as they would like to be before a game.

‘You’re not next to a refrigerator where you can get extra bottles of water all the time,’ Farmer said. ‘It just wears on you.’

On Friday, the Orange lost to host Illinois, 4-0. It was the fourth time this season SU failed to score. The Fighting Illini entered the season highly ranked but started the season with just a 1-3 record. Illinois went on to beat No. 13 Auburn 1-0 on Sunday.

The Orange wasn’t making excuses against Portland State, but it was obvious to Farmer his team could not fully enjoy the win after such a difficult week.

‘They didn’t seem as excited as they were relieved,’ Farmer said.

Published on September 11, 2006 at 12:00 pm