Lysianne Proulx motioned her hands toward the man behind her goal, asking him to pass her another ball quickly. Syracuse needed a goal to tie the game with less than five minutes left to play. Proulx then waved her players up field and set up for a long kick. It flew 30 yards but went out of bounds, untouched.

The errant goal kick was emblematic of Syracuse’s (2-3) play on Sunday as it misplaced passes, couldn’t find players at the end of crosses and through balls and only fired four shots on goal. In one sequence in the second half, Syracuse fired in three consecutive crosses, yet none connected with a friendly head in the box. Once again, the Orange struggled on the road, falling 1-0 to Kent State (1-3-1) at Dix Stadium.

It was SU’s third-straight loss, all coming on a four-game road trip in which the Orange have not scored. The trip ends at St. John’s on Thursday.

Syracuse controlled the run of play early in the first half, but Kent State thrived on counterattacks. The loss of Georgia Allen to an apparent head injury further weakened the Orange’s midfield, opening up lanes for Kent State going forward.

The Golden Flashes finally struck through Karly Hellstrom in the 22nd minute. A long throw-in into the Syracuse box was mishandled by the Orange defenders and Hellstrom slotted the ball past Proulx. The two teams finished the half with an equal number of shots on goal, but Kent State had two more total shots.

As the second half wore on, Syracuse tried more long balls and utilized Sydney Brackett on the right wing. Brackett was the only Orange player to have shots on goal, finishing with four. She was given space in the 88th minute cutting in on her left foot and fired Syracuse’s best chance of the game. It was parried away out of harm’s way by Kent State keeper Faith O’Neill, and soon after, the final whistle sounded, dropping Syracuse below .500 for the first time this season.

The attacking intent in Syracuse’s first two games has wavered slightly during its current road trip. Against Colgate and Siena, the Orange had 17 and 16 shots, respectively. At Dartmouth and Auburn, they managed just five and seven. On Sunday, SU was outshot 16-10.

Head coach Nicky Adams stressed in the first two weeks that the Orange will look to play with players behind the ball but also look to get forward and press for as long as their legs allowed. Against Kent State, the pressing was evident at times, but the midfield lines were broken by long balls and quick passes by the Golden Flashes.

As conference play nears, Syracuse will need to tighten up on both sides of the field to compete in arguably the hardest league in women’s collegiate soccer.

Published on September 8, 2019 at 4:37 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder