The Syracuse forwards knew they’d face a challenge going up against Boston University’s backs. The Terriers had an immense height advantage.

BU backs Kate Murphy, Kiley Allosso and Jacinda McLeod are 5 feet 11 inches, 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 11 inches, respectively. SU head coach Ange Bradley said she knew they would tower over the much smaller SU forwards, Heather Susek and Kelsey Millman.

‘They’re aggressive; they’re hard defenders,’ she said. ‘They’re a very good team, so when you’re 5-foot-9 and you can have a reach that makes you about 6-foot-5 with a stick, and we’re only about 5-foot-6, we definitely needed to prepare for that.’

Bradley told her players to stay strong on the ball and not to let the taller BU players push them off the play. And that’s what the Orange did on Sunday, as it beat the Terriers in a 3-2 victory at J.S. Coyne Stadium. But the five different penalty cards issued by referees and the falls on the field proved it wasn’t easy.

Bradley didn’t underestimate the power that BU’s players would bring.

She showed her team video of BU’s previous games and gave the forwards some technical advice on how they can avoid losing the ball to players that towered over them. Each of SU’s three goals reflected that technique. That technique showed with Susek’s goal, a battle between her and BU goalkeeper Jess Maroney, with Susek edging the ball in off the right-hand goal line.

‘We as a team are quite small, so we have to be extra strong on the ball if we want to play against big girls like them,’ junior back Amy Kee said. ‘Heather and Kelsey are quite small, and I don’t think they got pushed off the ball much at all.’

The aggressiveness of the game led to five penalty cards being issued — two green cards to SU, two to BU and one yellow card to a BU player, which resulted in BU playing down a player for 10 minutes. BU midfielder Nicole van Oosterom was issued the yellow card for a physical tackle during an SU breakaway. Junior back Iona Holloway was issued a green card for what she called a ‘bad stick tackle.’

In addition to the penalty cards — some of which were for technical violations, like being too close to a player who’s taking a free hit or defenders leaving the goal line on a corner before the ball is played — the game was filled with tough play. Players from both teams struggled to remain on their feet, sometimes resulting in minor injuries.

Seven minutes into the second half, Kee felt the power of the BU backs. She took a fall after colliding with a BU player while trying to score off a penalty corner, taking nearly a minute to walk off the injury.

‘They’re big girls and they’re really strong in their tackles,’ said Kee. ‘They went through the players, they weren’t scared to get their body in the game.’

Overall, Bradley felt that with the exception of some ‘flurries’ in front of the goal in the first half, her squad did a fine job standing up to the taller players. She doesn’t think it’s something her team will have to worry about seeing often.

‘Most tall girls played basketball and volleyball, thank God,’ Bradley said. ‘We’re a little short in field hockey. BU is a very tall team, and they’ve got a lot of size and stature. They’re probably one of the biggest we’ll see, height-wise.’

After the intense, physical game, SU players took time to stretch their legs on the field as a team before entering the locker room. The effects of the day’s play were apparent but not unexpected.

‘It’s a game of putting everything out on the line,’ Millman said. ‘We really just go after it. Sometimes, you just fall.’

knmciner@syr.edu

Published on September 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm