Dominant Second Half Sends Syracuse to Final Four
by Matt Stoss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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The first rule of Project Mayhem: don't ask questions. |
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Syracuse's strategy for
keeping James Madison off the scoreboard in the second half was
simple.
"We kept the ball on the offensive end of the field," Orange coach
Gary Gait said with a laugh.
It was also effective, as Syracuse, led by Halley Quillinan's
three goals and 12 saves from Liz Hogan, beat James Madison 7-3 in
the quarterfinals of the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament Saturday,
enduring a 30-minute lightning delay that lengthened halftime by 20
minutes.
The Orange (15-6) trailed 3-2 at intermission but outscored the
Dukes (17-3) in the second half, 5-0, to advance to the semifinals
Friday, when they will play Maryland in Towson, Md.
It is Syracuse's second semifinal appearance since 2008.
"I would give a lot of credit to the offense," Hogan said. "As
Gary said, 'The best defense is a great offense,' and they got a
lot of shots in the beginning [of the second half] - in the first
10 minutes. And after that, I don't even know if I saw a shot."
Ariel Lane had two goals to lead JMU, which rallied from a 2-0
deficit in the first half. Annie Brophy scored the go-ahead goal
with 4:52 left in the first half to make it 3-2.
But that was it for the Dukes' offense, which went silent in the
second half.
"It was just composure," said JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe,
whose team went just 5-11 last season. "We really did make some
nice plays down on the defensive end and in the midfield to cause
some turnovers. We just had some momentary lapses of toughness and
decision-making skills to make the right play to maintain
possession, and I think that was unfortunate."
Michelle Tumolo added two goals for Syracuse, which outshot JMU
22-19 for the game, including 14-6 in the second period.
"I think we just wore them down in that second half and really
took control of the game," Gait said.
Tee Ladouceur put the Orange ahead for good, 4-3, off a pass from
Quillinan with 26:30 left in the game. Quillinan tied it at 3-3
with a goal just under two minutes into the second period.
"At halftime, we regrouped, kind of got our feet back under us,
got our confidence going," Quillinan said. "I think we were able to
get the ball in the second half a lot more than we had it in the
first half."
