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Chiara Gutsche sent a long pass down the left sideline, leaving Pleun Lammers to chase it before a Virginia defender could catch up to her. She gained control of the ball on the run and took three big touches, almost making it to the end line, and sent in a cross past two Virginia defenders to Hailey Bitters. She lunged for the ball, falling on her knees to reach it before Cato Geusgens could get to it. Off of one touch, she hit it in.

Bitters’ goal would be Syracuse’s (8-7, 4-5 Atlantic Coast) only goal in its first home game of the spring season, a 2-1 loss to Virginia (7-11, 4-7) on Friday. Syracuse only scored once on 12 shots, while the Cavaliers managed two goals on a season-low five shots. In the past three games, all losses, Syracuse has outshot opponents 52-21 but has struggled to find the back of the net.

“It’s frustrating statistically,” head coach Ange Bradley said. “Second game in a row we dominated and ended up not getting the result we’re working towards.”

The first quarter was a stalemate, as both teams looked to find their footing. Neither Syracuse or Virginia managed to get a shot on goal or a corner, and they rarely made it into each other’s circles.

Four minutes into the second quarter, however, Virginia drew the first corner penalty of the game. Like Louisville and Boston College did the past two games, the Cavaliers took advantage of their opportunity, as Meghen Hengerer scored her first goal of the season. She passed the ball to Greer Gill and ran to the goal post unmarked, received a pass back and quickly tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Syracuse responded with an increase in energy and was awarded a corner a minute later. SJ Quigley slapped the ball to Eefke van den Nieuwenhof, who sent a line-drive shot right to Virginia goalie Lauren Hausheer. The ball bounced off Hausheer and fell into the stick of Bitters. Bitters hit the ball mid-bounce, but Hausheer again blocked the shot, this time using her chest. Van den Nieuwenhof would get one more shot on target before Virginia ended the half with two shots in the final minute.

Almost immediately in the third quarter, Syracuse’s aggressive defense started to backfire when Roome Joosten received a green card and had to sit out for two minutes, forcing the Orange to focus on defense. Syracuse survived a Virginia corner, and SU looked like it was turning around as Bitter scored to even the game, up 1-1.

Even with the goal, frustration began to pile up for the Orange, as assistant coach Allan Law got the Syracuse bench a green card for yelling and arguing with the referee after a no-call trip by a UVA player.

Laura Graziosi and Joosten were both carded, leaving Syracuse down two players in the third quarter. But Syracuse still received three corners in a row by putting pressure on the UVA defense. Each time, the passes were crisp and the touches were clean, leading to shots on goal. But the Orange couldn’t get the ball behind Hausheer.

Syracuse dominated the fourth quarter, having possession of the ball for all but one Virginia play — Annie McDonough’s game-winning goal. Virginia had two shots on goal the entire game, and the second, with four minutes left in the game, sealed the win for the Cavaliers.

“I think we can improve on our corners for sure and the execution,” said Van den Nieuwenhof, who had six shots.

Bradley said the team played well, with aggressiveness in the second half leading to nine shots and seven corner opportunities for the Orange. But the small issues — “offs,” as she described them — kept the Orange from coming out on top in their second-to-last game of the season and final game before facing top-ranked UNC.

“Those little bits of ‘off’ make all the difference,” Bradley said.

Published on April 16, 2021 at 9:36 pm

Contact Adam: amccaffe@syr.edu