Villanova outshot the Syracuse field hockey team, 17-6, on Friday night at Coyne Field. SU also trailed in penalty corners, 9-3. But when the clock struck zero, the Orange still upset the No. 16 Wildcats, 4-3, on the strength of freshman goalie Heather Hess’ 11 saves, most of which came diving for the ball.

The Wildcats controlled the tempo from the beginning but allowed SU to score four goals on only six shots. The Orange was a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty corners, but the goal that put Syracuse ahead was not on a penalty corner. Junior forward Megan Stuart scored her first goal of the season to give SU a 3-2 lead in the second half.

Junior backer Michelle Sola scored her second goal of the game with just under five minutes to play for insurance. That goal proved to be the game-winner, because Villanova scored less than a minute later. Syracuse’s defense stiffened for the final minutes to put the team above .500 for the first time all season.

It was Hess, though, that kept the Orange (7-6, 2-1 Big East) in the game.

‘She played better than we could ever expect,’ said junior forward Ashley Fry, who also scored. ‘She was coming out of nowhere on some of those shots. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe she just stopped that.’ She did amazing.’

On one Villanova (11-3, 2-1) penalty corner, Hess made three saves as she lay on her back with Wildcats slapping rebound after rebound at her.

On other shots through the night, Hess would lunge on the ground to protect the cage or attack charging Villanova forwards and kick the ball away.

‘It’s instinct for her to go down,’ Stuart said. ‘She has natural instincts for where the ball is going.’

By halftime, Hess already had a game’s worth of work. Villanova had taken 12 shots and already had six penalty corners.

The Wildcats hit the ball through seams in the defense, which kept the ball in Syracuse’s defensive side of the field for the majority of the game. That kept the pressure on Hess.

‘She is just totally doing awesome as a freshman,’ Stuart said. ‘We couldn’t ask for a better freshman goalie coming in.’

Published on October 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm