For the second time in program history, Syracuse is going to the final four. The Orange (19-2) defeated No. 4-seed Penn State (18-4) 5-2 on Sunday in front of 562 at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.

Syracuse freshman Gillian Pinder started the scoring on Sunday in the 19th minute with a goal off a rebound. With a little less than five minutes remaining in the half, Jordan Page scored her first of two goals to extend the Orange’s lead.

In the second half, the aggressive Nittany Lions drew nine penalty corners in the first 20 minutes and capitalized on one. Whitney Reddig scored in the 52nd minute to cut Syracuse’s lead to one goal. Reddig later scored Penn State’s second goal with less than three minutes remaining and the game out of reach.

The Orange responded to Reddig’s first goal with two scores in the following five minutes. Liz McInerney scored on a penalty corner and then assisted Page’s second goal, and Syracuse took a 4-1 lead. In the 65th minute, Iona Holloway added another goal, the Orange’s fifth and final.

Penn State outshot the Orange 25-20, but Syracuse goalkeeper Leann Stiver recorded a season-high 13 saves. The Nittany Lions also held the advantage in penalty corners 15-7.

In the first-round matchup on Saturday, the Orange defeated Massachusetts 4-2 to avenge its only regular-season loss of the season — a 2-1 loss in Amherst, Mass., on Oct. 11. Page, Lauren Brooks, Kelsey Millman and Stephanie Hussey each scored in the victory.

Syracuse will play top-seeded North Carolina at 2 p.m. Friday in Norfolk, Va., in a rematch of the Tar Heels’ only loss this season on Sept. 1. No. 2-seed Princeton and Maryland will meet in the other semifinal matchup.

Cross Country

The Syracuse cross country team failed to win its fourth consecutive NCAA Northeast Regional title as the No. 14 men’s team placed third and the women’s team ran to a sixth-place finish in Madison, Conn.

The top finishers for the Orange were seniors Griff Graves for the men and Sarah Pagano for the women.

Pagano finished 13th overall with a time of 20:19.8, while Graves finished sixth overall with a time of 30:27.6.

The men’s runners placed in close vicinity to one another, as three runners placed consecutively for spots 21 through 23. Sophomore Reed Kamyszek was the last men’s harrier, in 33rd place with a time of 31:10.9.

The time difference margin varied significantly in the competitive women’s field, as the next runner to place for the women crossed 31.5 seconds later. Katie Fleischer’s time of 20:50.3 was good for 31st place. Rounding out the top seven for the Orange was redshirt junior Erin Cawley with a time of 21:30.4.

The women’s team, not as deep as the men’s, advanced to the championship as the regional race was just a qualifier.

The Orange runs in its last race of the season at the NCAA Championship at noon Saturday in Louisville, Ky. No longer a race of survive and advance, the men’s and women’s teams looks to produce more program All-Americans.

Ice Hockey

Akane Hosoyamada scored with three minutes remaining in regulation, earning Syracuse its first tie of the season.

The five-minute overtime was scoreless and SU came back from 2-1 down to take a point from its Saturday afternoon visit against RIT at Ritter Arena in Rochester, N.Y.

SU (5-5-1, 2-0-1 College Hockey America) was outshot for just the second time all season as the Tigers got off 38 shots to the Orange’s 24. Allie LaCombe gave the Orange an early lead, just more than seven minutes into the game, before the special teams took over the scoring.

There were 11 penalties called over 65 minutes of play. Jacquie Greco’s cross check at the 6:32 mark of the second period was punished by the Tigers with a Kim Schlatmann goal just 45 seconds later. RIT capitalized on Brittney Krebs’ hooking penalty 37 seconds into the ensuing power play to go ahead 15:37 into the third.

The Orange bounced back on a power play of its own on Hosoyamada’s equalizer. SU had to fight off one more penalty in the extra period after Nicole Renault was called for hooking 1:19 into overtime. The penalty kill held RIT, though, and Jenesica Drinkwater’s first game in goal since an Oct. 19 loss to Quinnipiac finished even.

RIT visits Tennity Ice Pavilion at 7 p.m. Nov. 20.

—Compiled by The Daily Orange sports staff, sports@dailyorange.com

Published on November 12, 2012 at 2:55 am