Courtney Brosnan walked over and hugged the left goalpost before leaping up and hanging from the crossbar. A Syracuse handball inside the box with under two minutes remaining gave Buffalo a penalty kick and a golden opportunity to win.

The shot went left and so did Brosnan. She rose vertically with both hands in the air, swatting the ball away and forcing overtime.

But SU couldn’t capitalize on the momentum and conceded a goal in the second-overtime period.

Syracuse (2-4) wasted 23 shots and 11 corner kicks in a 1-0 loss to Buffalo (3-2) in double overtime Sunday at UB Stadium. It’s the fourth loss in five games for the Orange, and the second consecutive 1-0 loss.

After containing Buffalo for 100-plus minutes Friday, Syracuse committed a costly defensive miscue.

With two and a half minutes remaining in the second and final overtime period, Brosnan dove out with her legs to block a Buffalo shot on the left side of the field.

The ball was deflected to the opposite side, where another UB shot ricocheted off the crossbar. Buffalo pounced on the follow-up and Dana Lytle buried the ball into the back of the net with Brosnan still on the ground and no Orange jerseys in sight.

Brosnan popped up shouting before falling back down on her knees, a scene that encapsulated the emotion on a frustrating afternoon for SU.

Syracuse dominated possession for much of the game and created far more scoring opportunities than its opposition, outdoing Buffalo in shots (23-13) and corner kicks (11-2).

But the Orange couldn’t find a way to break through the Buffalo back line and missed out on its two best chances when UB goalkeeper Laura Dougall deflected a shot over the crossbar in the 63rd minute and Alex Lamontagne sent a shot into the side of the net as the clock hit zero in regulation.

Syracuse will look to bounce back Friday when it hosts Cornell at 3:30 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium.

Published on September 6, 2015 at 3:20 pm

Contact Matt: mralex01@syr.edu