Jennifer Bleakney burst through Pennsylvania’s defense and carefully handled the ball while initiating Syracuse’s offense. She dished the ball to Annalena Ulbrich, who set up Laura Hurff for the goal.

Bleakney didn’t record an assist in the Sept. 25 matchup, but she orchestrated the play with her speed.

Her ability to create plays has been the key to Bleakney’s emergence as a go-to forward for No. 4 Syracuse (10-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) this season. After not tallying a point in her inaugural season with the Orange, Bleakney ranks tied for third on the team with five goals this year and also has an assist.

“I have a lot of speed on a lot of people,” Bleakney said. “It’s what I try to use on opponents.”

Bleakney’s sophomore campaign has brought success from the start. In SU’s first two games, she scored three goals and earned ACC player of the week honors.

The 5-foot-1 Bleakney is unable to utilize size like many of her teammates. Instead, the Maryland high school state champion track star uses her speed to blow by defenders and to get the ball to open space.

“Jen is really good at throwing the ball and going forward,” forward Elaine Carey said. “When Jen attacks on … goal, no defender in the country is going to catch her.”

Bleakney often utilizes what’s called the “throw and go” technique in field hockey. Similar to the “dump and chase” strategy in ice hockey, the play begins with a forward dumping the ball deep into space and then flying past her defender to receive the ball behind the defense. For quick players like Bleakney, this technique can be very effective.

Bleakney’s raw speed appears on the field and also in offseason training sessions. This past summer, Bleakney broke the SU conditioning test record, boasting a time of 5:46 in the 2-kilometer test, 10-year head coach Ange Bradley said. Iona Holloway, who played at SU from 2009-12, previously held the record, according to Bradley.

“She blew (the conditioning test) out of the water,” Bradley said. “… And Iona is not close to Jen.”

As a state champion in the mile back in high school, Bleakney remains fitter than most of her counterparts. She’s often the first to trail a play from behind and work her way past exhausted defenders.

Bleakney displayed her opportunistic ways in a goal earlier this season against Wake Forest. As Demon Deacons defenders meandered back to the defensive zone, Bleakney sprinted through the middle of the field waiting for her opportunity to pounce on a loose ball. As the ball sprang free off Wake Forest’s goalie, Bleakney pounded a drive to the back left of the net from open space to give the Orange a 3-1 advantage.

“She is able to sustain (her speed) for such a long period of time,” Carey said. “She can do one of those big massive sprints, someone else might have to be taken off the field after but she’s so fit that she can just do that repeatedly.”

Published on October 4, 2016 at 11:22 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44