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Syracuse still hadn’t scored midway through the first period, down 1-0 to Virginia Tech. It seemed like routine goals just weren’t going in.

With a woman-up advantage, Emma Ward was positioned behind the net and found Emma Tyrrell directly in front of Hokies goalie Jocelyn Torres. Emma took a bit of an off-balance shot that Torres miraculously saved with her knee.

Although Syracuse (16-1 Atlantic Coast) picked up a 14-12 ACC tournament quarterfinals win over Virginia Tech (10-9, 3-6 ACC), it was an underwhelming performance. On Wednesday, the team tied its second lowest offensive output of the season with 14 scores. The Orange came into the game shooting 52%: the best in the nation. But against VT, SU shot just 45% and were only 2-for-7 in the first quarter. The Hokies aren’t known for a being a defensive powerhouse, yet Syracuse still found itself in an offensive slump in the quarterfinals.

Moments after her sister’s shot was saved, Meaghan Tyrrell muscled in towards the net, crossing Torres’ face. She let go of a strong shot that looked like Torres was late to react to, but the shot bounced off the post and out and the Orange remained scoreless.

Syracuse regained its confidence shortly after, with two goals in less than two minutes from Emma and Maddy Baxter. As the first frame came to a close, the Orange had another rash of missed opportunities at the cage.

Savannah Sweitzer had a clear line of sight to the net and missed high with a little over two minutes left in the quarter. Seconds later, Torres saved a hard shot from Emma and another one from Meaghan half a minute after.

Syracuse entered the half with a shooting percentage of just 29%. This was despite the fact that they forced Torres to make three saves.

SU won possession to start the second frame and held the ball in the Hokie zone for about a minute. Natalie Smith took her second shot of the day and it was saved by Torres. Megan Carney rung the post moments later, giving SU 3-2 four minutes into the period.

Smith and Carney both missed again later in the quarter. Torres stopped a Smith rocket to the left of the net with five minutes remaining in the half. Three minuets later, Carney fired the ball at the cage but missed wide right. She took a foul seconds later.

Syracuse was only winning 6-5 going into the third quarter, its smallest halftime lead all season. VT had prevented Meaghan from getting a first-half goal.

Fortunately, the Orange were the most efficient all day in the third quarter, lighting up the net with five goals on six shots. Excluding that period, the Orange only shot 36% on Wednesday. They reverted back to their first-half miscues in the final period.

Sierra Cockerille scored on her first three shots of the day, but missed a free-position at the end of the third and shot wide of the net at the start of the fourth. On the same possession, Syracuse was awarded a free-position chance. Emma charged in toward the net and was saved by Torres for the third time.

Smith scooped up the ball that deflected off Torres and the Orange maintained control. After a Jordan Tilley foul, Cockerille was working in around the 8-meter. She fought her way inside and tried to fit the ball around Torres, but the goalie was too fast and stopped the shot short.

Following two straight saves by Delaney Sweitzer, the All-ACC first team goalie picked up a ground ball and sent her team up the field with a clear. SU toyed with the ball in the Virginia Tech zone for roughly a minute before releasing some shots.

Cockerille missed high on a shot from distance but the Orange recovered the ball. Olivia Adamson separated from her defender on the 8-meter before launching a shot at net. Once again, Torres blocked the shot and Tilley collected ball off the deflection. Torres then cleared and within 40 seconds, VT midfielder Blair Guy whipped a shot in to bring the game within one with just six minutes left.

But then, Meaghan turned it on, scoring twice to put the game just out of reach. The Orange got the job done against the Hokies, but recorded their second worst shooting percentage all year against an off the radar team. They also missed the cage more than usual, only putting 70% of their shots on goal. Emma, Cockerille and Smith all shot way below their average percentage against VT.

Published on April 26, 2023 at 8:55 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu