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The Daily OrangeWLAX | Makin' music: Syracuse downs Vanderbilt to earn first ever Tourney win; next stop, Northwestern
By Joel Godett
Posted: 6/5/07, 1:00 AM EST Section: Sports
MAY 14: NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Draw controls had become an issue for the Syracuse women's lacrosse team.
SU got a fight from Rutgers and was blown away in the category by Georgetown at the Big East Championship. Neither situation came back to haunt Syracuse, with the Orange winning both bouts en route to the Big East Tournament title.
But last week against No. 2 Penn the issue once again reared its head and likely cost SU head coach Lisa Miller's club the game. On Sunday, though, Syracuse was determined not to let the problem persist in front of 327 fans at eighth-seeded Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament's first round-and it succeeded.
"We spent all week working on it," Miller said. "We worked on angles, we worked on ground balls off of it, we stopped and talked about the space that you should be going into and took a good chunk of time trying to fix it this week."
The Orange took 17 of 28 draw controls, including nine of 13 in the second half to blow by the Commodores, 16-10, in Nashville, Tenn., winning the first NCAA tournament game in team history. SU junior Kristin Brady owned the midfield, running off with seven controls, but it was a switch to freshman Lindsay Rogers in the circle that really spurred SU.
"She turned the tide," Miller said. "She's a scrapper. She's tough. She's good. She's low to the ground and she explodes out of the pack really well. Just having her in the mix was very helpful."
The Orange's dominance came as something of a shock to Vanderbilt and head coach Cathy Swezey. The 10th year coach didn't expect SU to control the draw as much as it did, but also left some of the results up to luck.
"One thing that I think was a little unexpected was their ability to control the draw," Swezey said. "We really expected to be controlling that aspect of the game. It's a 50-50 ball so it's just a matter of repetition in practice. Until you put your center up against their center you don't really know who's gonna get the jump on it."
The Commodores actually won the game's first draw, converting it to a goal just 34 seconds in. It was the first of five for VU senior Margie Curran, and the first of two that would put Vanderbilt up 2-0-a lead that lasted nearly 15 minutes, but one they never regained after that.
The Orange scored four of the next five goals, and ended the half on an 8-4 run. The rally was capped off by sophomore Katie Rowan's third goal with 1:39 before halftime. The play came right off the draw, leaving the sophomore to take it herself around the cage and out in front, knocking a Commodore defender off her feet in the process.
"Girl on my back, girl on my side," Rowan said. "I knew I couldn't get my shoulder in so I just went around and she was just standing there and I rolled around her. It was a new look but it was good."
The goal was one of five on the day for SU's single-season scoring leader. But for Rowan, the tallies also included career score No. 100, making her the fastest to reach the mark in Syracuse history.
The win marks the first NCAA Tournament victory for Syracuse, adding onto an already impressive record breaking season that's seen the Orange capture its 100th win and first ever Big East Championship, in the process knocking off Georgetown for the first time as well.
Next up for Syracuse is top seeded and No. 1 ranked Northwestern this weekend. The Wildcats advanced with a 19-7 win over Holy Cross in Evanston, Ill. The schools last met March 30, at Northwestern, with the Wildcats winning 10-7, the closest margin of victory for the nation's top team this season. Awaiting the winner is a trip to the 2007 Final Four.
This and that
Halley Quillinan's one goal on Sunday gave her 47 on the year, a new freshman record for tallies in a season. The previous record was 46, set by Rowan last season. Dove's five goals Sunday also gave her 47 on the year, and a share of the record.
Senior Jill DePetris logged no assists or ground balls against Vanderbilt, leaving her still three assists off a tie for SU's single season record and two ground balls back of a tie for the career mark.
The Orange went the entire first half without an assist on eight goals. SU finished with just two assists in the game, the team's lowest assist total since it tallied three helpers in an 18-16 overtime win over UConn.
SU Junior Bridget Looney drew a red card in the second half of Sunday's game. She will be available for SU's second round match-up with Northwestern.
SU got a fight from Rutgers and was blown away in the category by Georgetown at the Big East Championship. Neither situation came back to haunt Syracuse, with the Orange winning both bouts en route to the Big East Tournament title.
But last week against No. 2 Penn the issue once again reared its head and likely cost SU head coach Lisa Miller's club the game. On Sunday, though, Syracuse was determined not to let the problem persist in front of 327 fans at eighth-seeded Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament's first round-and it succeeded.
"We spent all week working on it," Miller said. "We worked on angles, we worked on ground balls off of it, we stopped and talked about the space that you should be going into and took a good chunk of time trying to fix it this week."
The Orange took 17 of 28 draw controls, including nine of 13 in the second half to blow by the Commodores, 16-10, in Nashville, Tenn., winning the first NCAA tournament game in team history. SU junior Kristin Brady owned the midfield, running off with seven controls, but it was a switch to freshman Lindsay Rogers in the circle that really spurred SU.
"She turned the tide," Miller said. "She's a scrapper. She's tough. She's good. She's low to the ground and she explodes out of the pack really well. Just having her in the mix was very helpful."
The Orange's dominance came as something of a shock to Vanderbilt and head coach Cathy Swezey. The 10th year coach didn't expect SU to control the draw as much as it did, but also left some of the results up to luck.
"One thing that I think was a little unexpected was their ability to control the draw," Swezey said. "We really expected to be controlling that aspect of the game. It's a 50-50 ball so it's just a matter of repetition in practice. Until you put your center up against their center you don't really know who's gonna get the jump on it."
The Commodores actually won the game's first draw, converting it to a goal just 34 seconds in. It was the first of five for VU senior Margie Curran, and the first of two that would put Vanderbilt up 2-0-a lead that lasted nearly 15 minutes, but one they never regained after that.
The Orange scored four of the next five goals, and ended the half on an 8-4 run. The rally was capped off by sophomore Katie Rowan's third goal with 1:39 before halftime. The play came right off the draw, leaving the sophomore to take it herself around the cage and out in front, knocking a Commodore defender off her feet in the process.
"Girl on my back, girl on my side," Rowan said. "I knew I couldn't get my shoulder in so I just went around and she was just standing there and I rolled around her. It was a new look but it was good."
The goal was one of five on the day for SU's single-season scoring leader. But for Rowan, the tallies also included career score No. 100, making her the fastest to reach the mark in Syracuse history.
The win marks the first NCAA Tournament victory for Syracuse, adding onto an already impressive record breaking season that's seen the Orange capture its 100th win and first ever Big East Championship, in the process knocking off Georgetown for the first time as well.
Next up for Syracuse is top seeded and No. 1 ranked Northwestern this weekend. The Wildcats advanced with a 19-7 win over Holy Cross in Evanston, Ill. The schools last met March 30, at Northwestern, with the Wildcats winning 10-7, the closest margin of victory for the nation's top team this season. Awaiting the winner is a trip to the 2007 Final Four.
This and that
Halley Quillinan's one goal on Sunday gave her 47 on the year, a new freshman record for tallies in a season. The previous record was 46, set by Rowan last season. Dove's five goals Sunday also gave her 47 on the year, and a share of the record.
Senior Jill DePetris logged no assists or ground balls against Vanderbilt, leaving her still three assists off a tie for SU's single season record and two ground balls back of a tie for the career mark.
The Orange went the entire first half without an assist on eight goals. SU finished with just two assists in the game, the team's lowest assist total since it tallied three helpers in an 18-16 overtime win over UConn.
SU Junior Bridget Looney drew a red card in the second half of Sunday's game. She will be available for SU's second round match-up with Northwestern.
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