Stagnant attack hinders SU in 1-0 loss to No. 9 Boston College

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A team that is ranked No. 12 in the nation must have an aggressive offense that matches a solid defense. Syracuse has checked those boxes throughout its entire regular season. The Orange scored multiple goals in 12 of its 17 games, 11 of which resulted in wins.

But when SU’s offense can’t get going, the team finds significant problems. In its five losses, Syracuse combined for two goals, both of which came against then-No. 4 Virginia in a penalty shootout.

The trend continued Friday. No. 12 Syracuse (12-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell 1-0 to No. 9 Boston College (12-5, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), with the game’s lone goal occurring in the final two minutes of play. Syracuse concluded the contest with just six shots, three on goal, while attempting just five penalty corners.

In the early going, the Orange and Eagles were evenly matched, constantly trading offensive possessions throughout the first quarter. Syracuse had opportunities early with numerous fast breaks by Willemijn Boogert, but it couldn’t convert. Shortly after, Vivian Rowan found Berber Bakermans over the middle in the shooting circle, but a soft shot off of Bakermans’ stick ended SU’s attack.

“There were tremendous opportunities, especially in the first quarter and the first half,” SU head coach Lynn Farquhar said postgame. A lot of our game is grey. There’s going to be inconsistency, and we need to find a way to fight through it.”

Syracuse’s static offensive play didn’t end there, though. The Orange put together another chance when Boogert attempted to find Hattie Madden low. The ball skipped over Madden’s stick, rolling out of play and returning possession to BC. Syracuse ended the first quarter with just three shot attempts, but compared to Boston College’s two, SU was still in a position to gain a lead.

With the second quarter underway, Syracuse had hopes of flipping its offensive luck. However, if anything, the Orange fell even more behind. SU’s defense was efficient in giving its offense the ball back, but confusion by Lieke Leeggangers and a leg injury to Taja Gans slowed any momentum.

The Orange continued their trend of not having any penalty corner opportunities, but this time, they matched it with zero shots. With Bo van Kempen starring from the top of the shooting circle in the majority of Syracuse’s wins, its best opportunities have come from that position.

“It’s small details, and at this time of the year, so much of it’s mental, so we (have) to be able to fight and bring the ownership of a tempo to the table,” Farquhar said.

Gans returned to play in the second half, and the score remained 0-0. Syracuse was in a spot to control the game, but it was hard to do so without penalty corners. A stagnant quarter for SU’s offense wasn’t a surprise at this point as the Orange, once again, recorded zero shots and zero corners.

Syracuse’s lone look at any pressure was when Lottie Summers stole the ball about halfway through the quarter. SU’s offense tried to push downfield but was broken up by BC’s defense, ending the threat.

Heading into the fourth quarter with no shots since the first quarter, Syracuse was lucky to be knotted up at an even score.

Syracuse almost took the lead three minutes into the fourth quarter when Lana Hamilton delivered a ball that ricocheted off Peyton Hale’s stick. The ball skipped up, nearly entering the goal past goalie Charlotte Kramer before it pivoted wide left. That was just the beginning of the chaos for Syracuse.

With six minutes left in regulation, SU finally forced its first penalty corner. Van Kempen stood at the top of the shooting circle with Boogert at the line for insertion. A clean insertion by Boogert was nullified when Annabelle Vossenaar fumbled the trap. She was forced to dribble to the side but corrected her mistake when she caused a foot foul from a BC defender, leading to another penalty corner.

This time, things changed. A clean insertion followed by a solid trap gave van Kempen a good look at the goal. She pushed the shot toward the net, but it knocked Kramer’s knee pad, rolling to the side.

Vossenaar got the ball back, forced another penalty corner and SU was back with its third attempt in 40 seconds. Like the first try, the insertion by Boogert couldn’t be handled by Vossenaar, who forced another mistake by a BC defender, setting SU up for the fourth time.

Syracuse changed things up, not with Vossenaar, but instead with Hamilton placed out of bounds for the insertion. However, the switch didn’t change much as the trap collapsed, and Syracuse lost its opportunities.

The final penalty corner would mark SU’s last real opportunity as BC scored with one minute remaining. After a lousy offensive showing, Syracuse fell just short in its final regular season game.

“Were they flat? Was there a hop? I just think there are some things that we cannot control as a squad,” Farquhar said.

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