Liz McInerney was virtually everywhere in Syracuse’s game against Kent State on Sunday. The midfielder scored a goal, but it was her ability to feed her teammates passes that proved to be her more important contribution.

She assisted Lauren Brooks, Jordan Page and Iona Holloway on their goals to help the Orange cruise to a 7-1 victory.

“It’s pretty easy when the forwards are moving well,” McInerney said. “They were always in the right place at the right time, so we just worked well together today.”

Head coach Ange Bradley said she noticed the consistency of her players in this game, but also recognized how much McInerney meant to Syracuse’s win.

“She’s just Liz, she’s special,” Bradley said. “Always a hard worker and just does great things out there.”

McInerney took seven of SU’s 33 shots, outshooting Kent State as an entire team, which took only two. That resulted largely from the grittiness of the Syracuse defense, which has been mostly responsible for the Orange’s undefeated start to its season.

“Coming into the weekend we were No. 1 in defense in the country,” Bradley said.

Syracuse’s offense was consistent throughout the game, and McInerney repeatedly worked to find scoring opportunities for her and her teammates. The Orange played hard in both halves, which Bradley said the team didn’t do against Villanova on Friday.

Coming back from halftime on Sunday, the Orange remained in attack mode. Less than a minute into the second half, McInerney scored her second goal of the season on an unassisted shot from the top of the circle.

“Coach always tells us to come out strong,” McInerney said. “She usually wants a goal in the first two minutes.”

McInerney also remained vocal on the field throughout the game — a tactic the team says helps it play better as a whole. Even when McInerney was substituted out of the game, she could still be heard encouraging and instructing from the sideline.

“We all try to communicate, and that makes for good chemistry while we’re playing,” McInerney said.

With the two big wins at home, the Orange will now go on the road, hoping to remain as mentally tough as it was Sunday while also putting up the same dominant effort on both ends of the field.

“I think we have a good fan base and a lot of people in the area, so they’ll be coming in to support us,” Bradley said. “We just have to keep playing hockey, doesn’t matter where we’re playing, we know what our goals are.”

When Syracuse goes on the road, it’ll be crucial that McInerney continues her strong play for the Orange to continue its winning streak.

McInerney said she’s already looking forward to the test of this upcoming road trip and thinking about how the team can continue this stellar play.

Said McInerney: “This week will be a really big week for us, so hopefully we can continue the momentum and keep playing well.”

Published on September 17, 2012 at 2:13 am

Contact Jasmine: jlwatk01@syr.edu