The Daily OrangeOrange women's lacrosse struggles for possessions in loss to Virginia
By Edward Paik
Posted: 3/2/09, 1:51 AM EST Section: Sports
Liz Hogan drew water through her helmet and spit it out. Then she threw the bottle back into the same net Virginia had just scored in.
Time was still left. Hogan, the goalie on the Syracuse women's lacrosse team, hoped in vain to start clean. Just before, the Cavaliers held the ball for the first 4:30 of the second half, then scored. So Hogan spat - washed the result of that last play away - and waited for Syracuse to gain control.
That never happened.
All that Friday afternoon, the No. 4 Cavaliers (3-0) ripped shot after shot at Hogan. Regardless of No. 3 Syracuse's (3-1) defensive effort, with greater time, Virginia pulled a 14-11 win at the Carrier Dome.
The offensive torrent was obvious to the Orange goalkeeper and to the 1,297 in attendance: "It was definitely frustrating," Hogan said.
For the first time all season, Syracuse had considerably less time with the ball. It was held to 25 shots, its fewest this season. Its first loss this season revealed a flaw. Without the ball, even the nation's highest-ranked offense can't win.
"You have got to get the ball," head coach Gary Gait said. "You can try to be patient, play defense and get it after 4:30. But you can only be patient for so long."
Patience wore off.
After a blow-trading first half that left the game tied, 6-6, SU's failure to control the ball left the game lopsided. For much of the second half, offense took place on just one half of the field.
The passes that set up Syracuse scores in the first half became turnovers in the second. No longer could Hogan complete a 55-yard pass to a streaking attack like Halley Quillinan, who rushed toward the net and shot uncontested. When Hogan tried to spark transitions, the ball would end back the defensive field.
In the first, Hogan had room to breathe. But the Cavaliers' long possessions in the second frame staunched any Syracuse momentum.
"We just couldn't come up with those draw controls in the second half," Gait said. "We didn't stay poised, and we got outworked a little bit."
Time was still left. Hogan, the goalie on the Syracuse women's lacrosse team, hoped in vain to start clean. Just before, the Cavaliers held the ball for the first 4:30 of the second half, then scored. So Hogan spat - washed the result of that last play away - and waited for Syracuse to gain control.
That never happened.
All that Friday afternoon, the No. 4 Cavaliers (3-0) ripped shot after shot at Hogan. Regardless of No. 3 Syracuse's (3-1) defensive effort, with greater time, Virginia pulled a 14-11 win at the Carrier Dome.
The offensive torrent was obvious to the Orange goalkeeper and to the 1,297 in attendance: "It was definitely frustrating," Hogan said.
For the first time all season, Syracuse had considerably less time with the ball. It was held to 25 shots, its fewest this season. Its first loss this season revealed a flaw. Without the ball, even the nation's highest-ranked offense can't win.
"You have got to get the ball," head coach Gary Gait said. "You can try to be patient, play defense and get it after 4:30. But you can only be patient for so long."
Patience wore off.
After a blow-trading first half that left the game tied, 6-6, SU's failure to control the ball left the game lopsided. For much of the second half, offense took place on just one half of the field.
The passes that set up Syracuse scores in the first half became turnovers in the second. No longer could Hogan complete a 55-yard pass to a streaking attack like Halley Quillinan, who rushed toward the net and shot uncontested. When Hogan tried to spark transitions, the ball would end back the defensive field.
In the first, Hogan had room to breathe. But the Cavaliers' long possessions in the second frame staunched any Syracuse momentum.
"We just couldn't come up with those draw controls in the second half," Gait said. "We didn't stay poised, and we got outworked a little bit."
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