Ange Bradley had a request for her team going into Big East championship game. Score two goals in the first 20 minutes. Her team did one better.

‘I asked for two goals in 20, I wasn’t expecting three,’ Bradley, the Syracuse head coach, said. ‘That was a pleasant surprise, and it was huge. That got us the game.’

The Orange got off to a fast offensive start, jumping out to a three-goal lead en route to a 3-2 win over No. 4 Connecticut on Sunday at J.S Coyne Stadium to earn its second straight Big East championship title. No. 5 Syracuse exerted its offensive dominance in the blink of an eye in the first period. SU scored three unanswered goals and held on for the victory in the second half.

Bradley said getting the offense going out of the gate was discussed in meetings. To have success, the Orange had to push the higher-seeded Huskies back on its heels.

SU’s rapid offensive pace started less than four minutes into the game. Lauren Brooks hit a shot right past UConn’s goalie Sarah Mansfield after receiving a spot-on pass from teammate Martina Loncarica.

Brooks, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, said that first goal gave Syracuse the confidence it could score on one of the top goalies in Big East. And that confidence showed.

Less than a minute later, the Orange got on the board again. This time it was Liz McInerney’s turn to step up. The senior midfielder took on the Huskies defense all by herself. After dribbling past multiple UConn defenders, McInerney shot from the middle of the circle, giving Mansfield no chance of making a save.

Those were the two goals Bradley asked for, but Syracuse kept going. After Heather Susek was fouled and fell in the circle, Loncarica stepped in for the penalty stroke and delivered a goal that tucked into the left side of the cage. For the senior, she has been in those pressure situations all season long, a role she accepts.

‘It’s a responsibility,’ Loncarica said. ‘You know if you take a stroke, you have to score. So it’s just one more thing I’m helping the team win.’

What made Syracuse’s offensive outburst even more impressive is SU’s occasional struggle on offense earlier this year. In 10 games this season, Syracuse scored one goal or fewer in the first period.

Four times the Orange has been completely shut out in the first 35 minutes, including SU’s previous matchup against the Huskies. That game resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss for the Orange.

But it wasn’t the case in SU’s biggest game of the year.

Susek looked up at the scoreboard and was more than pleased with what she saw.

‘Usually, we’re slow to start off,’ Susek said. ‘We really came out on fire today and we scored. I looked up after the second goal, it was only four or five minutes passed by, and it was just great to start out like that. They didn’t know what to do.’

Overall, SU was aggressive, working its offensive movement by filling holes and moving into spaces in the midfield. The Orange’s passing for most of the first period was as crisp as the fall breeze, making it easy to get into circle and push UConn back.

Despite the strong first period, Syracuse was actually outshot by UConn, 7-4, but unlike UConn, the Orange capitalized when it had its chances.

‘It was very important,’ Brooks said. ‘We had three shots, three goals, so it was important.’

In the second period, the SU offense disappeared and was unable to get a fourth goal. But the Orange had enough of a cushion to mob each other and hoist another Big East championship trophy once the clock hit zero.

And it all trails back to a coach’s plea for instant offense.

‘I knew if we scored three, they’d have a hard time being able to score four,’ Bradley said.

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on November 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm