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The Daily OrangeWLAX | Syracuse unable to keep up offense, falls to No. 9 Virginia
By Christopher James
Posted: 3/5/07, 12:13 AM EST Section: Sports
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The No. 9 Cavaliers used second-half adjustments to rally past No. 15 Syracuse, 10-8, Saturday afternoon in front of 254 at the Carrier Dome. The loss marks the Orange's eighth-straight defeat to a ranked opponent. SU's last win against a ranked team came more than a year ago when the Orange knocked off then-No. 3 Dartmouth.
Unlike in its first two games, Syracuse jumped quickly out of the gate. SU smothered the Cavaliers in the first four minutes, holding Virginia without a possession. By that time, sophomore attacker Katie Rowan had already put two goals past a defense that had only allowed seven all season.
But the rest of the half belonged to the Cavaliers, as they took a 5-4 lead into the locker room.
"We had our opportunities," Rowan said. "We just didn't capitalize."
Despite dominating draw controls, 9-1, SU still trailed going into the second half. Maintaining possession became the problem. For example, after winning one draw control, the Orange turned the ball over before it could move into the offensive zone.
"(We) didn't have the ball that much," Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller said. "We couldn't get it past the 30s and therefore the attacking unit doesn't have the ball that much. For them to score eight goals in the amount of time they had the ball is pretty good. Our issue is between the 30s."
Star midfielder Gaddy Fortune, who has scored just one goal this season after accounting for 47 last season, did not play Saturday. Miller said the senior was not injured, but turns the ball over too much in practice.
The second half was the same story as the first. SU jumped out with two quick goals. Halley Quillinan's second gave SU the lead, 6-5, with 21 minutes to play. But two minutes after Quillinan's goal, UVA's Kalkstein tied it up at six.
Virginia proceeded to outscore the Orange, 5-2, the rest of the half.
After halftime the Cavaliers brought SU back to earth on draw controls. After tinkering with its lineup, Virginia won 8 of 10 draws in the second half.
"We ended up putting a little first-year named Kaitlin Duff up on the goal circle," Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. "It was huge. We went from not winning many draws at all to winning the last five."
Myers said she turned to her bench at halftime and asked them what to do to win draw controls. The players suggested Duff, a move that paid off in the circle and on the score sheet. The freshman scored the go-ahead goal off a free position with 11:34 to play, giving UVa an 8-7 lead.
Despite its struggles, the Orange was still in the game down the stretch. Miller said Myers was impressed with SU's play. But its difficulties in maintaining a lead throughout the game presented a problem the Orange will need to fix.
SU will have to do it fast, too. After taking on Binghamton Tuesday, SU will have another shot at a ranked team when it travels to No. 10 Georgetown Saturday.
"This isn't the end of the world," Miller said. "The opposing team's coach said you have an awesome team if you get rid of some of the little mistakes. That's all we have to do."
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