Syracuse hasn’t had the luxury of leaning on one scorer to carry the offensive load this season. Instead, they’ve all had to rely on each other with a different person stepping up in each game.

‘I think that it’s actually really exciting because you never know who can make an impact on our team,’ Alyscha Mottershead said. ‘We have a pool of great players, and the fact that a lot of people are contributing this year just makes us that much more of a threat because you can’t pinpoint one person on our team.’

Syracuse has had a bevy of players step up when needed most this year. Out of the seven goals scored, six different players have at least one goal, and four different players have found the back of the net for their first career goal this season. Head coach Phil Wheddon sees the variety of scoring options as an advantage for his Orange (3-4-3, 2-2 Big East) team.

The different scoring options make Syracuse a rarity in the Big East. Opposing teams can’t prepare for SU in the same way they do for teams that have one go-to scorer. Many of the Orange’s conference opponents have one star to control a game and get quality shots consistently.

The two teams SU faced last week, Georgetown and Villanova, both have a scorer with at least six goals to lead their respective teams.

With games against Seton Hall and Rutgers coming up, SU will have the task of containing forwards that have found the back of the net six times.

For Wheddon, the lack of a proven scoring threat is something the Orange has missed.

‘It’d be nice to have that one person who’s going to get that one quality chance a game,’ Wheddon said. ‘But I’m happy to be in games, and I think from now we’ll have some more regular scorers.

‘It’s always nice to have that proven scorer. But hopefully one will emerge.’

SU has created plenty of scoring opportunities for multiple players all season, something that Wheddon says shows the Orange’s capability. Syracuse has outshot its opponents 110-86 this season.

‘It just shows you the number of chances that we’re creating,’ Wheddon said. ‘We’re creating a lot of chances, and they’re from a lot of different people.’

With the offense improving and generating more shots, that one scorer Wheddon is searching for may still emerge.

As of right now, Tina Romagnuolo is the Orange’s top offensive threat and leading scorer with two goals this season. She tied for the team lead in goals last year with four and is the most likely candidate to become a proven scorer.

Forward Brittany Kinmond said Romagnuolo is someone Syracuse looks for when it is in need of a quick strike.

In addition to Romagnuolo, Kinmond said that SU has been working on getting the central midfielders more involved. It is hoped those midfielders can find some more open space in the middle of the field to fire on goal with shots from the outside.

But Cecilia Borgstrom, who netted her first career goal in a 2-1 loss to Rhode Island, isn’t as concerned about not having an established striker.

‘I feel I can trust everyone on the field,’ Borgstrom said. ‘And I know that when I pass to people they can do great stuff with the ball, so I feel I can rely on everyone.’

By relying on every player, opposing teams can’t really determine which Syracuse player to slow down.

Defensively for the Orange, Wheddon said that when scouting other teams like Seton Hall, he’ll stress that his players be mindful of Katie Ritter, who leads the Pirates with six goals. Opposing coaches can’t do that with Syracuse.

That unpredictable SU offense is something Wheddon’s players have bought into, knowing that it could be anyone to score the big goal.

‘I would say we have a multidimensional attack,’ Wheddon said. ‘It’s coming from everywhere.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on September 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm