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On Oct. 27, Syracuse traveled down to Storrs, CT, to face off against UConn. The match remained scoreless until a late third-quarter goal put the Huskies ahead. However, three straight fourth-quarter goals by the Orange gave them a comfortable lead, sealing their highest-ranked victory of the season.

Friday, the Orange returned back to Storrs. Except this time, the stakes were much higher as Syracuse was set to face Harvard in the NCAA Tournament’s second round. Heading into the match, Harvard’s offense ranked 10th in the nation, scoring almost three goals per game.

Syracuse knew the battle would be difficult, but the Orange were prepared, working all week on slight tweaks ahead of the match.

“We focused a lot on ourselves, just fixing our own stuff and making ourselves even 1% better,” Willemijn Boogert said ahead of Friday’s match. “Everyone still remembers last year’s (loss) against Harvard, so there’s still a little bit of fire, and we want to win really bad.”

Heading into Friday, SU won its last three second-round matchups in the NCAA Tournament. The trend officially came to a close as Syracuse (13-7, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) was defeated by Harvard (16-3, 6-1 Ivy League) 1-0. The Orange and Crimson played 60 minutes of scoreless hockey until the Crimson’s Lara Beekhuis won it on a golden goal in the first overtime period.

The game started similar to most of Syracuse’s games throughout the season. Stagnant offenses by both teams matched with firm defenses limited opportunities for the Crimson and Orange. Finally, over five minutes into the match, Harvard saw its first bit of life.

The Crimson drove into their attacking half and pressured SU’s sturdy defense. Bo van Kempen chased from behind and got a stick on the ball, nullifying the Crimson’s push.

At the 3:40 mark, Harvard pushed again, and van Kempen was in a position to stop the charge. A following swing by Sage Piekarski was cleared by Phoebe Hall. Harvard earned its first penalty corner when Beekhuis’ shot was deflected by Daisy Frank and knocked away by van Kempen.

The first frame came to a close as Syracuse and Harvard were knotted up at 0-0. Though the Crimson didn’t score, they commanded the whole first quarter. SU was without a shot and corner attempt at the time, leading its defense to do the bulk of the work.

“Our defensive unit was solid. We limited opportunities and from our defense, we had plenty of opportunities for the counter,” SU head coach Lynn Farquhar said postgame. “I think we played well in the midfield third and that’s because our defensive unit was so strong.”

While the defense was carrying the weight for Syracuse after 15 minutes of play, its offense slightly came to life in the second quarter. Syracuse entered the shooting circle for the first time at 9:55 but didn’t convert.

It also recorded its first shot when Berber Bakermans had the ball with seven minutes left. The midfielder launched a backhanded attempt which went way over the net. The Orange’s attack ended, yet its momentum gave the team some life defensively.

Further attacks by Harvard were stopped by SU’s aggressive approach. Bo Madden and Hattie Madden joined van Kempen as the three accumulated defensive stops, turning them into offensive pressure.

Syracuse saw another good look when van Kempen stole a ball from Fiene Oerlemans. Van Kempen found Hattie running downfield; however, the ball went just wide, and Hattie’s stick couldn’t corral it.

Again, Syracuse and Harvard went into the break scoreless. The Crimson had tallied three shots and two penalty corners while SU attained a shot but still remained without a corner.

“It’s the style (Harvard) plays. They play the full field and drop pretty tight to congest the space. They went to five overtimes and are a team that hangs in there,” Farquhar said.

As the third quarter began, still not much offense had helped either team out. The Orange finally got going early, though, as Taja Gans found Aiden Drabick on a fast break. The pass from Gans went right toward Drabick, who whiffed on her shot attempt.

Following SU’s push, it returned when Bakermans attacked Harvard’s defense halfway through the third quarter. She had a clean look and shot, but Harvard’s Smilla Klas swatted the ball away.

After Bakermans’ attempt, Syracuse wasn’t done. The Orange had their first penalty corner attempt with six minutes left in the third. An insertion by Lieke Leeggangers, with a clean trap by Annabelle Vossenaar, set up van Kempen for the shot.

As the NCAA’s leader in game-winning shots and seventh-highest total goal-scorer, van Kempen loaded back and fired a shot on goal.

The drag-flick was saved by Tessa Shahbo, but another foot foul gave the Orange a second chance. This time, van Kempen’s drag-flick went completely wide, canceling SU’s best look all day.

“We generated quite a bit, it was just our attacking 25. We had to do the last piece a little bit better today,” Farquhar said.

The fourth quarter was all Louise Pert, who faced four shots in the frame, two of which she saved. Martha le Huray, Bronte-May Brough, Marie Schaefers and Emily Guckian led the push for the Crimson.

Harvard’s two penalty corner attempts were cleanly handled by SU’s defensive unit, and Guckian’s two shots were both rejected. Following the Crimson’s lengthy push, the Orange slowed the ball down, taking the game into overtime.

As the extra time began, SU was without Boogert — one of SU’s top defenders — who sat out with a yellow card.

After Pert swatted aside a corner attempt, van Kempen ran down the field and forced a foot foul on Kitty Chapple. Shahbo saved a drag-flick by van Kempen on the corner, while SU’s second chance was also missed.

As three minutes remained in the overtime period, it was now Harvard’s turn. Beekhuis, who had just been subbed in for Guckian, pushed toward Pert. She loaded up and took a backhanded shot, which went right through Pert’s legs. That was all Harvard needed as the Orange’s season was over just short of a quarterfinal appearance.

Published on November 15, 2024 at 7:10 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_