Syracuse was up by just one goal with 1:09 to play. 

The situation was simple. Win the draw and hold the ball as the clock ran out. Or, lose the draw and potentially allow Boston College to send the game to overtime. 

Kailah Kempney flung the ball up outside the circle. And Bridget Daley captured it in her stick to force a violation as a Boston College midfielder knocked her to the ground.

“I think that is just a reflection of how she is,” Alyssa Murray said. “She’s got the fire in her, and she works her butt off no matter what the play is, no matter if she’s going to get recognition for it or if no one’s going to notice anything that she’s doing.”

Daley scored two goals and controlled four draws in No. 2-seed Syracuse’s (20-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) 11-9 win over No. 7-seed Boston College (15-6, 3-4) on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. 

Daley, a fifth-year senior, has missed nearly the entire season with a foot injury. She returned to action for SU’s final regular season game, and was a spark plug on both sides of the ball on Saturday.

“I would always say, ‘You’re coming back for the most exciting part,’” Murray said. “And that’s exactly what we need her for.”

With Syracuse down 3-1, she was trucked inside the 8-meter arc. She knocked home the free-position shot. 

Just over six minutes later, Murray found Daley cutting to the goal. She fired in a shot that gave Syracuse a 5-4 lead. 

“They (Murray and Kayla Treanor) were being marked tight and they were sliding early with the double, and Bridget Daley getting a couple goals was huge,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “Finding the open spot when they left the double.”

In SU’s biggest win of a season that she hasn’t had much of a chance to contribute in, Daley was a key factor.

“We believed and trusted, and she did all the work that she needed to do,” Gait said, “and now she’s back and doing what she was dreaming about.”

Published on May 17, 2014 at 6:26 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3