Orange on a Roll
“We were getting a few more draw controls, especially in
the beginning of the second half. We play a lot of defense by
offense and made a good effort on the ride, said head coach Gary
Gait.
If you check out the box score, the ride was the difference. Loyola
completed only 12 of 20 clears, giving Syracuse the chance to pull
away from the Greyhounds.
Sophomore attacker Michele Tumolo led all scorers with 3g and
2a.
“Our biggest point was to get back, drop back and
hustle,” said Tumolo (who gave her interview wearing both
Mikey Powell-style eyeblack and a face mustache – she’s
an interesting girl). Tumolo got burned a couple times in their
last game versus Cornell when the Big Red’s midfielders got
some easy transition play on clears. It was a focus in the Loyola
game and it paid off.
Defensively, the Orange shut out Loyola’s attack for 25:29
beginning late in the first period and stretching into the second
half. Sophomore defender Becca Block drew the 1v1 assignment on
Greyhounds’ top attacker Grace Gavin, holding her to 2g and
1a. Aside from the Black-Gavin match-up, the Orange had a
team-oriented defense.
“Our main focus was on team D because It felt like every
single one of them had a mind to take the ball to goal,” said
junior defender Jenelle Stegeland.
That kind of unity takes time to gel. Syracuse started the season
with no returning midfielders. They’ve since become a
well-oiled machine.
“We’re a real young team, and we had the toughest
schedule in the country on the road,” said Gait.
“Earlier in the season, we would have let that get
away.”
The Orange almost did let the win get away. After building a 10-5
lead with 8:17 to play, they allowed Loyola to score four straight
to climb back into the game. The final three goals came in less
than three minutes. Each of those three goals was keyed by a
turnover caused by the out-of-cage play of Loyola goalie Kerry
Stoothoff. Stoothoff finished with 6 saves and two recorded
turnovers. While she couldn’t quite get the W, she did an
excellent job of stepping up and trying to make something happen
from the defensive end. With 25 seconds remaining, Syracuse
controlled the final draw and denied the Hounds an equalizer.
Loyola, which began its season on a 13-0 run, is now 1-2 in its
last three games. These two teams may well meet again in next
week's Big East tournament. Stay tuned to LMO to see how it plays
out!
