The timer on the J.S. Coyne Stadium scoreboard had run out, but the line of four Syracuse defenders and goalkeeper Borg van der Velde were under the most pressure they had been all afternoon.

Albany had just earned its fourth consecutive penalty corner, three of which came with no time remaining on the clock. The Great Danes flung the ball to the top of the circle for one final shot at evening the game.

After three short passes, players from both sides collapsed on the ball before it popped out to the stick of SU defender Jamie Martin, who fizzed the ball out of bounds to end the game. Syracuse (2-0) held off 13 penalty corners from Albany (0-1) en route to a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Great Danes produced most of the game’s goal-scoring chances but the Orange defense, led by van der Velde, stayed solid to preserve the shutout.

“I believe in our defense and in our team. We have a lot of trust in each other,” van der Velde said. “We trust our preparation, and we prepared well.”

Albany’s final penalty corner came after three failed attempts, all of which resulted in the visitors drawing another corner.

Anna Henderson | Digital Design Editor

Its first of the bunch came with 19 seconds left after SU’s Roos Weers obstructed Albany’s Dana Bozek inches inside the circle. Assistant referee Andrew Estrada blew his whistle signaling a corner, which Weers challenged. After a brief review, the call stood.

As the Great Danes readied themselves to control and shoot the ball, Syracuse’s Chiara Gutsche, who was one of four defenders on the goal line, stepped over the line prematurely and was removed from the play. With SU down a player, Albany’s hopes of equalizing looked more likely than ever.

After a smooth give-and-go, Katie MacCallum had an uncontested shot at goal, denied by the left foot of van der Velde, one of the sophomore’s five saves on the afternoon. The Great Danes worked another penalty corner, and Gutsche was allowed to come back and defend, bringing SU’s defensive unit back to full strength.

“(Claire) Webb did a very good job, Borg did a very good job,” Weers said about the man-down situation. “We just stayed composed and believed we could do it.”

On the ensuing play, Webb immediately blocked Bozek’s path to the goal but was called for obstruction, giving Albany another corner. The visitors didn’t test van der Velde as the shot ricocheted off Weers’ foot, giving the Great Danes their fourth successive corner. Finally, Martin corralled the ball before another penalty corner was called, securing the Orange’s second victory of the season.

While SU answered in the most tense moments of the game, it’s sloppy play in the first half nearly resulted in conceding several goals. The Orange gave the ball away in its own half more than seven times, allowing Albany attackers Bozek and Frederike Helme to create chances. Syracuse surrendered five penalty corners in the first half and dealt with each without trouble.

---

---

“It was us not moving and sloppiness,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said about the team’s first-half struggles. “Once we figured some things out in the second half, we were able to open them up. It just takes a while to figure those puzzles out.”

In total, Syracuse fended off 13 penalty corners and held the Great Danes to six shots on such plays, two of which were saved by van der Velde. Each time Albany controlled the ball at the top of the circle, SU’s defense bursted off the goal line to suffocate the visiting attackers. A substandard defensive performance in the first half was erased by a solid one in the second which is a sign of progress, Weers said.

“We’re taking little steps,” Weers said. “We’re a young group.”

Published on August 26, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu