FH | Cold, ice deter Orange in Final Four loss
By Edward Paik
Posted: 11/23/08, 11:25 AM EST Section: Sports
"It was like playing in an indoor facility," Averill said. "The ball was just zipping around with so much speed."
Moore noticed the cold's effect when she first walked on Trager Stadium's field - she she began slipping. But once the game started, the factor went the back of her mind.
"I really didn't notice that the game was so cold until the game ended, and then I was like, 'Oh, wow,'" Moore said.
As the game drew into overtime, the field began to show discolor - a mint green - covered entirely by a layer of frost. And the officials acknowledged the factor.
Averill noticed that the referees awarded Syracuse a free hit from the Deacons' half in the second, even though the ball didn't go entirely out-of-bounds. She asked for explanation.
"They said, 'Coach the sidelines are completely iced over,'" Averill recalled. "Fair enough."
The frost on the field worked against Wake Forest as well.
Toward the middle of the second half, Deacons' forward Kim Romansky countered a pass along the midfield, ran to SU's arc, turned away from an Orange defender and passed it along the endline.
"It was the perfect pass," said Moore, who was on the receiving end. But the forward slipped as the Romansky's ball came out to the stroke mark of SU's arc, and kicked the ball past Orange goalkeeper Heather Hess.
Her stick was there, but she couldn't evade the ice. Moore's hat trick and a 3-2 lead could of come before overtime, it could have ended the game there but officials were quick to rule off the goal.
"You can't let it affect you," Shannon Taylor said.
But it did.
In front of Wake Forest's cage, goalkeeper Crystal Duffield knew that if field was slick for her, it was slick for the opposing offense. Duffield changed her strategy and focused on placing her body well behind the ball. She ended the game with five saves.
The Orange and Wake Forest got into their element for 79:04 on the ice-field. Both teams were forced to.
"You can't control the weather," Duffield said.
edpaik@syr.edu
Moore noticed the cold's effect when she first walked on Trager Stadium's field - she she began slipping. But once the game started, the factor went the back of her mind.
"I really didn't notice that the game was so cold until the game ended, and then I was like, 'Oh, wow,'" Moore said.
As the game drew into overtime, the field began to show discolor - a mint green - covered entirely by a layer of frost. And the officials acknowledged the factor.
Averill noticed that the referees awarded Syracuse a free hit from the Deacons' half in the second, even though the ball didn't go entirely out-of-bounds. She asked for explanation.
"They said, 'Coach the sidelines are completely iced over,'" Averill recalled. "Fair enough."
The frost on the field worked against Wake Forest as well.
Toward the middle of the second half, Deacons' forward Kim Romansky countered a pass along the midfield, ran to SU's arc, turned away from an Orange defender and passed it along the endline.
"It was the perfect pass," said Moore, who was on the receiving end. But the forward slipped as the Romansky's ball came out to the stroke mark of SU's arc, and kicked the ball past Orange goalkeeper Heather Hess.
Her stick was there, but she couldn't evade the ice. Moore's hat trick and a 3-2 lead could of come before overtime, it could have ended the game there but officials were quick to rule off the goal.
"You can't let it affect you," Shannon Taylor said.
But it did.
In front of Wake Forest's cage, goalkeeper Crystal Duffield knew that if field was slick for her, it was slick for the opposing offense. Duffield changed her strategy and focused on placing her body well behind the ball. She ended the game with five saves.
The Orange and Wake Forest got into their element for 79:04 on the ice-field. Both teams were forced to.
"You can't control the weather," Duffield said.
edpaik@syr.edu
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