The question for SU field hockey coach Kathleen Parker isn’t if the Orange will bounce back from its 4-0 loss to Michigan and 3-1 defeat to Old Dominion over the weekend.

What remains to be seen is when Syracuse (1-4) will finally start piling up some wins.

With Big East play opening against Rutgers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, wins must come quickly. Prior to the opening face-off this fall, Parker wanted tough competition for her squad. She knew what was lying ahead by playing the likes of Richmond, last year’s national semifinalist Michigan and Old Dominion.

‘It’s probably as challenging a schedule as any we’ve had,’ Parker said before the season. ‘But you don’t get any better until you play these types of teams.’

Now the time has come, and Parker will see if the Orange starts winning.

But will the tough competition help SU in the long run?

‘I really don’t know,’ Parker said. ‘You hope that we keep learning each game. You hope we can focus and keep learning and see what we can do and where we have to go.

‘It depends on your confidence level and where it comes out. Most people will look at the record and say, ‘You guys are awful.’ I hope we don’t believe that. I don’t believe it.’

The lone highlight in both contests came from Betsy Wagner’s stops at goalie. Though the Wolverines continuously peppered the senior goalkeeper, she did not back down. Wagner notched 13 saves, matching a career high she previously set against the Spiders. Against the Monarchs, she made four of her seven stops in the final 35 minutes.

‘She’s playing with more confidence,’ Parker said. ‘She has held us in a couple games here.’

But with SU’s depleted offense, the Wolverines outshot Syracuse, 33-3. Michigan also beat them on corner opportunities, 14-1.

‘They totally dominated the game,’ Parker said. ‘We couldn’t sustain our offense whatsoever.’

The Orange picked up the offense, modestly speaking, in the second contest against the Monarchs. Junior back Joanne Lombard slapped in a goal five minutes into the second half off a rebound to the left post. The score cut Old Dominion’s lead to 3-1. It was Lombard’s first goal of the season and 14th of her career.

The increased scoring opportunities were prevalent against the Monarchs. This time, Old Dominion doubled SU’s number of shots, 22-11, while staying even on corners, 10-10.

‘We talked to the girls, and we tried to convince them that they could play with Old Dominion,’ Parker said. ‘And they really did. Obviously it’s the final score that counts. It showed us we can play pretty decent, though.’

Whether it translates into Big East victories won’t be known until Friday.

Published on September 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm