ITHACA — No matter what play Syracuse ran, which player took the shot or how much head coach Ange Bradley encouraged her team from the sideline, the Orange couldn’t break through. 

Trailing 2-1, the Orange had five penalty corners — prime opportunities in field hockey — in the final 5:16 minutes of play to even up the score. Three shots from freshman Charlotte de Vries, including one nullified by a dangerous shot call, couldn’t save Syracuse. Neither could a Carolin Hoffman strike, which was denied by a Cornell defender on the goal line or a SJ Quigley blast that found the net but was waved off for being too high. 

No. 18 Syracuse (3-1) converted one of 11 penalty corner chances on Saturday. On the other side, the Big Red (1-0) connected on their first two to beat SU, 2-1. Because of its inefficiency on corners, Syracuse lost its first match of the 2019 season to a team that hadn’t beaten Syracuse since 2007, and won just a single conference game last year. 

“They had good structure, they competed hard, and they took advantage of their opportunities,” Bradley said postgame. “They played us tough and they capitalized on two early opportunities.”

Five minutes into the game, Cornell flashed its penalty corner execution. Taylor Gladd entered the ball to Claire Jones, who elevated a shot past a screened Sarah Sinck.  

Minutes later, Syracuse had its own penalty corner. Midfielder Laura Graziosi settled an inbounds pass to Hoffman, who faked a shot and left it for Stephanie Harris. Harris, a back, blasted a slap shot through a crowd of sticks in front of the net, but Cornell’s goalkeeper Maddie Henry kicked it away. Hoffman corralled the rebound, but her shot sailed over the crossbar, erasing one of SU’s best scoring chances.

In the second quarter, Cornell continued its efficient penalty corner performance. A slow-developing play led to a scrum in front of the net, where forward Kate MacGillis won a loose ball even as three SU defenders draped over her. MacGillis’ backhand shot rolled past Sinck, who was then immediately pulled out of the game. It was the Big Red’s second penalty corner goal in as many tries.

“There were two shots, two goals,” Bradley said about the decision to bench Sinck in favor of Syd Taylor. “It’s pretty simple. Statistics, right?”  

In the second half, Cornell sat back on defense, committing at least nine of their 10 position players to the defensive half of the field. SU continued to attack and earn penalty corner chances, but struggled to convert. Before one corner in the third quarter, Bradley yelled from the bench, “Here we go ‘Cuse. Come on!” The encouragement didn’t work as midfielder Graziosi mishandled the entry pass. 

Perhaps Bradley’s inspiration had a delayed effect, as de Vries scored her fifth goal in four games a little after. On a penalty corner, she found a rebound and finished it through the Big Red goalkeeper’s legs. de Vries’ goal made it 2-1, but the clock soon ticked down. Five more penalty chances in the final five minutes were just that — chances. 

“I think our corners, we need to get consistency,” Bradley said. 

One of the reasons Cornell was successful in defending Syracuse corners, Bradley said, was because they ran the clock out after winning possession. Cornell backs would nonchalantly remove their extra equipment as the clock ran, which Bradley called “smart play.” 

After the game, the Syracuse roster stretched in a silent circle. Claire Webb, who is out with a hand injury, tried to console some of her shocked teammates. 

“Our team’s very resilient,” Webb said, “So we can take what we can from this game and build for the next ones.”

Published on September 7, 2019 at 3:43 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman