Frustrating wasn’t the right word to describe Syracuse’s offense Friday, Orange back Lies Lagerweij said, but the team knew it could play better than it did.

Twenty shots, but only three goals. Zero for seven on penalty corners. Two green cards, both coming in the first half. It was a game that Syracuse eventually won, 3-1, but also a game that some of SU’s players wished they had back.

“We need to learn to execute a game plan, we weren’t a better team today.” Lagerweij said. “If we don’t execute our game plan and do from the start what we want to do, we make it really hard on ourselves.”

After failing to capitalize on multiple opportunities Friday afternoon, No. 1 Syracuse (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) was able to stay patient and put three goals on the board, topping No. 18 Boston College (1-3, 0-1), 3-1 at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

For the first 25 minutes Friday afternoon, the stands at J.S. Coyne Stadium produced little more than an orchestra of groans and head rolls from Orange fans. While holding the advantage in shots and corners over the Eagles, SU was still unable to convert a chance.

In one instance, a shot from Serra Degnan banked off the outside of the goal, rolling harmlessly away. Another was on Syracuse’s seventh shot of the game from a penalty corner, a shot that, like the six others before it, couldn’t find its way into the net.

“You’ve got to finish,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said. “That’s something we definitely will be working on, because that can send a tone from the very beginning.”

With the Orange down 1-0, still searching for its first goal of the day, Lagerweij had seen enough.

She trapped the ball 20 yards from the goal, weaving between the Boston College defenders with her head buried in the turf. Once in front of the net, she wound up and backhanded the ball into the back of the BC goal, turning toward her teammates and screaming as she launched her fist into the air.

Lagerweij’s unassisted goal came on the Orange’s eighth shot of the game with 25:29 on the clock. It was a shot that, unlike the other seven before it, finally found itself buried in the back of the net. The goal tied the score at 1-1, and gave hope to the Orange squad.

“It’s kind of a relief, when you know you’re better than a team, to finally get that goal in.” Lagerweij said. “Obviously it shouldn’t be, it should be getting two goals early and making it easy for yourself.”

Lagerweij’s goal did more than relieve the Orange, it jumpstarted it. Still, Bradley prepared her team for the second half, driving home that BC is a second-half team, and they wouldn’t go away easily.

As BC faltered, posting just three shots in the half, SU was finally able to capitalize on opportunities.

“We were able to just get control at halftime,” SU forward Liz Sack said. “Just keep control and not worry about the speed of the game.”

With taking control of the game came taking control of the scoreboard, and just four minutes into the second half, Sack slammed home her first goal of the season to put the Orange up, 2-1.

Then after an 80-yard pass from Roos Weers, a breakaway goal from Elaine Carey in the waning minutes gave SU the security blanket it would need to take a 3-1 victory.

“We were able to pull out a win,” Sack said. “Being able to come out and get two goals after the half time, it was a big deal for us.”

Published on September 9, 2016 at 8:48 pm

Contact Matt: mjfel100@syr.edu