Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFH | Cold, ice deter Orange in Final Four loss
By Edward Paik
Posted: 11/23/08, 11:25 AM EST Section: Sports
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It took an hour and 17 minutes to get Friday's game going. In 22-degrees, Trager Stadium's field developed a sheet of ice over its turf before Syracuse's first Final Four appearance. So out came field zambonis, rock salt and commercial heaters to thaw the ground.
But cold prevailed.
"It was rough," said Wake Forest head coach Jen Averill, after her team defeated the Orange in overtime, 3-2. "You're trying to tell (your players) to go after everything, and they do, and they lose their footing and there down.
"It was rough for us. It was rough for Syracuse. So it kind of made it an equal playing field for both teams."
Friday night's weather caused all sorts of problems, beginning with the delay of game. Bodies slid across the turf - some lost balance - causing players to fall into one another or to lose possession. Dark patches of turf, marked by players' footwork on the frosted field, created an uneven playing field. Cold players exhaled fog.
"It's our weather. It's perfect. We loved it," Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said. "Our kids wore shorts and didn't wear (under) shirts on."
Regardless, the field worked against Syracuse's favor just 10 minutes into the game.
On an attempt to clear the arc in the first half, a pass to back Ann-Sophie Van der Post bounced high off her stick. Wake Forest forward Hilary Moore saw the ball as it undulated closer to SU's cage, rushed the left of the arc and tapped the ball stick-side for first goal of the game.
"The surface was really hard," Bradley said. "And I don't want to makes excuses, bottom line is that we didn't execute, but it gave a little bit of a bounce and if I could do it again I would adjust some calls I made on corners."
As the slick surface increased the speed of the ball, two attempts to stop the outlet pass from Maggie Beffort on the penalty corner caused unpredictable changes in movement. None of SU's eight penalty corner opportunities were converted.
But cold prevailed.
"It was rough," said Wake Forest head coach Jen Averill, after her team defeated the Orange in overtime, 3-2. "You're trying to tell (your players) to go after everything, and they do, and they lose their footing and there down.
"It was rough for us. It was rough for Syracuse. So it kind of made it an equal playing field for both teams."
Friday night's weather caused all sorts of problems, beginning with the delay of game. Bodies slid across the turf - some lost balance - causing players to fall into one another or to lose possession. Dark patches of turf, marked by players' footwork on the frosted field, created an uneven playing field. Cold players exhaled fog.
"It's our weather. It's perfect. We loved it," Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said. "Our kids wore shorts and didn't wear (under) shirts on."
Regardless, the field worked against Syracuse's favor just 10 minutes into the game.
On an attempt to clear the arc in the first half, a pass to back Ann-Sophie Van der Post bounced high off her stick. Wake Forest forward Hilary Moore saw the ball as it undulated closer to SU's cage, rushed the left of the arc and tapped the ball stick-side for first goal of the game.
"The surface was really hard," Bradley said. "And I don't want to makes excuses, bottom line is that we didn't execute, but it gave a little bit of a bounce and if I could do it again I would adjust some calls I made on corners."
As the slick surface increased the speed of the ball, two attempts to stop the outlet pass from Maggie Beffort on the penalty corner caused unpredictable changes in movement. None of SU's eight penalty corner opportunities were converted.
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