Cristine Doran was two inches away from notching a hat trick last night.

Midway through the first half against Cornell, Syracuse women’s lacrosse attacker Leigh-Ann Zimmer lobbed a pass to Doran, who was camped in front of the Cornell goal. The ball never made it to Doran. Instead, it was tipped into the net by a Cornell defender, and Zimmer was given credit for the goal.

Doran’s third goal would have capped a dominant game by the junior attack. Her two other goals will have to suffice.

Doran was the main reason No. 11 Syracuse edged No. 12 Cornell, 12-8, last night at the Carrier Dome. The win put the Orangewomen one step closer to earning an at-large bid to next month’s NCAA Tournament.

While her team moved one step closer, Doran ignited Syracuse with two goals. Her first-half tallies came within two minutes of each other and gave the Orangewomen an early 2-1 lead over the Big Red.

Last night’s playing time gave Doran a rare starting opportunity. She took advantage of the playing time.

‘I wasn’t expecting to (start),’ Doran said. ‘If you have a good week in practice, you’ll probably be on the field.’

Indeed, Doran’s strong play in practice cemented her spot in the starting lineup. All week leading up to yesterday’s game, the Orangewomen practiced with Cornell’s defense in mind. Syracuse coach Lisa Miller needed quick attacks to beat the Big Red’s high defense.

Doran fit the bill.

‘We deliberately set up isolations,’ Miller said. ‘We didn’t think (Cornell) would go to double-team early, and she’d surprise them. Cristine’s one of our better shooters. She’s also one of the quickest people on the team.’

Before last night, Syracuse had a tendency to start games slowly. Miller cited the Orangewomen’s early complacency in their 14-11 loss to Dartmouth last Friday and a 9-5 win versus Connecticut on March 29. Doran’s two early goals jump-started the otherwise sleepy Syracuse offense.

Doran picked a good game to get off to a quick start. Yesterday’s game was only her fourth start of the season. She came into the game with three goals, including two in an 8-7 win over Virginia Tech on March 3.

Yesterday’s game meant a lot more to the Orangewomen than the Virginia Tech game, though. Both Syracuse and Cornell were competing for NCAA Tournament berths. While the Orangewomen can still receive an automatic bid by winning the Big East, conference-leader Georgetown, No. 5 nationally, would have to lose two games for that to happen.

All week, Miller and her players stressed the importance of last night’s game.

‘We were playing for our lives,’ Doran said.

Doran knew one of the Orangewomen’s attackers had to play well. She was just happy it could be her.

‘We’ve got seven attackers on the field that can put the ball away,’ Doran said.

Miller was pleased a bulk of the scoring came from someone other than SU’s top scorers — sophomore Monica Joines and Zimmer.

Said Doran: ‘When the team’s down, someone’s got to do it. There has to be other attackers willing to get it done.’

Miller believes Doran can be the third option in SU’s two-pronged attack.

‘I’ve always believed Cristine could do some serious damage,’ Miller said. ‘I think she’ll be our third attack. It’s just a question of getting her to believe she is the third attacker.’

Published on April 16, 2003 at 12:00 pm