Syracuse (4-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) made its Atlantic Coast Conference debut on Thursday, losing to No. 2 Virginia 3-0. The Orange got blanked against Virginia Tech on Sunday, losing 3-0 for the second-straight game.

The Cavaliers sent a flurry of shots toward SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel in the early going on Thursday, but were unable to score. Virginia broke through in the 33^rd minute when Makenzy Doniak beat the SU defense and scored her fifth goal of the season.

The Orange struggled to keep possession against tight defensive pressure, and the Cavaliers outshot the Orange 16-4 en route to a 3-0 win.

On Sunday, the Hokies flustered the Orange with their athleticism and also earned a 3-0 win. Virginia Tech relied on an impressive performance from Jazmine Reeves, who finished with two goals and an assist.

SU generated a handful of scoring chances but was unable to capitalize. Trailing 1-0 in the second half, the Orange had a chance to tie the game on Maddie Iozzi’s corner kick, but an offsides penalty gave possession to the Hokies.

Syracuse will travel to South Bend, Ind. to finish its three-game road trip against Notre Dame on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

Cross country

The Syracuse men’s cross country team claimed first place at the Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday morning. Syracuse won by a 10-point margin, as freshman MJ Erb took second place.

Erb ran the eight-kilometer race in 23:59:56, missing the victory by less than two seconds. Griff Graves finished in fourth place, adding five total points to SU’s total.

Syracuse ousted No. 24 Georgetown and No. 29 Dartmouth, continuing its torrid stretch.

The women’s team, meanwhile, earned second place, losing to No. 6 Georgetown by just eight points.

Jesse Peterson finished third overall with a time of 21:04:43 in the six-kilometer race, while Margo Malone and Brianna Nerud also finished in the top 10.

The cross country team heads to Massachusetts for the Boston Inter-Regional on Friday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m.

—compiled by staff writer Austin Mirmina and asst. sports editor Trevor Hass

Published on September 16, 2013 at 1:09 am