Lauren DeCarlo might never have been in the position to score Syracuse’s biggest goal of the season if not for the momentary injury of one of her teammates.

With less than 10 minutes to go in the second half in a scoreless tie between SU and Providence, defender Casey Ramirez collided with a Providence player. Following the collision, Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon asked Ramirez if she was OK to continue, but the senior was too shaken up.

As a result, Wheddon turned to backup defender DeCarlo — a walk-on — to go in for Ramirez.

‘Usually, you don’t make changes at the back unless you have to,’ Wheddon said.

‘Was it planned to put Lauren in at that time? No. But I’m glad I did.’

DeCarlo went from the bench to the pitch in the 84th minute and took advantage of the late-game opportunity, netting SU’s lone goal of the game with less than five minutes to play to give the Orange a 1-0 win over the Friars (3-3-4, 1-1 Big East). With the win, Syracuse (2-3-3, 1-1 Big East) evened up its record in Big East play in front of 307 at the SU Soccer Stadium after falling to Connecticut 1-0 on Thursday.

DeCarlo was used sparingly in the game but said she noticed Syracuse didn’t have a lot of back-post runs on Sunday. When she entered the game with time ticking down, the defender decided to push up the field.

As the sophomore was racing down the sideline, Brittany Kinmond sent a crossing pass into the Providence box in the 86th minute. SU’s Brielle Heitman couldn’t head it in, but her header deflected right to DeCarlo.

From there, DeCarlo wound up and shot into the left side of the net, freezing Friars’ goalkeeper Caitlin Walker and scoring her first career goal.

‘It was actually magical,’ said Heitman, who was credited with the assist on the play. ‘I kind of held my breath there for a second. I saw the ball coming across, and Lauren was wide open with the perfect opportunity to score on the side net. It was like in slow motion.’

The scene went from slow motion to an absolute frenzy with DeCarlo’s teammates rushing to her in celebration. The goal finally finished what the Orange tried to accomplish all game.

Throughout the game Saturday, Syracuse was in control and possessed the ball at a much higher rate than Providence. The Orange sent the ball into the box at will and took 10 shots compared to just two for PU. The Friars failed to get a shot off in the second half.

Wheddon said his team simply played better than Providence in almost every aspect of the game.

‘Anytime you can put in a performance like this, I think it’s a great tribute to the players,’ Wheddon said. ‘We didn’t take our foot off the gas pedal at all. I thought every one of our players contributed, and I would say without being too big headed that I thought we dominated the performance. I thought we were the much better team.’

Although SU was clearly the better team against the Friars, who were on their heels for the full 90 minutes, it still dealt with a problem it’s had all season long: cashing in on its offensive chances.

The game-winning goal was only SU’s fifth goal of the season in eight matches.

Wheddon said he saw opportunities for the Orange to net two or three goals earlier in the game that would have made Syracuse’s task of dismantling Providence easier.

Instead, the contest came down to the final five minutes and the right foot of DeCarlo, who was the third Orange scorer this season to net her first career goal. For Wheddon that sends a message to the rest of his squad — anyone’s capable of contributing to SU’s success.

‘It’s a message to every player,’ Wheddon said. ‘If you’re doing the right thing, if you’re working as hard as she is and stuff like that, you can get on the field, and you deserve to be on the field, and you’ll get your opportunities. It’s all about making the most of your opportunities.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

 

Published on September 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm