Maybe the rest did some good for Syracuse senior Caitlyn Dragon.

When Dragon took the Carrier Dome field Saturday against Boston College, she entered refreshed and eager to make up the time she lost when team doctors forced her to sit out SU’s game versus Dartmouth on Wednesday after suffering a hit to her head last weekend.

And for the team-first Dragon, nothing was sweeter than having her five goals and one assist lead the No. 12 Orange to a dominating 11-4 victory over the Eagles in front of 308 fans at the Carrier Dome.

The Orange (9-3, 2-1 Big East) started the scoring three minutes into the game with a goal by senior Monica Joines, one of her four on the game. But almost immediately after the attack started, it cooled off.

A goal by Susie Breaznell, BC’s leading scorer, tied the game at 1-1 with 13 minutes left in the first half, and the heavily-favored Orange knew it needed to shake its shooting woes. SU hadn’t scored since the first three minutes of the half despite numerous good looks at the net.

BC’s pressure often surprised the Orange attack from behind and forced SU to rush shots or select-heavily defended shots. But with 11 minutes left in the first half, Dragon figured out the Eagles (6-5, 1-4) defense.

From then on, Dragon made scoring look easy. She’d receive the ball and quickly launch a shot at the net before the defense could set. Of SU’s 11 goals, Dragon scored or assisted six of them.

‘They were doubling pretty fast,’ Dragon said, ‘so the person with the ball had to swing it pretty fast.’

A once close game quickly spiraled out of control for the Eagles.

Dragon played so well, Syracuse head coach Lisa Miller pulled her out once SU seized an 11-1 lead with less than seven minutes remaining. It was the first five-goal performance for the Orange and Dragon’s second six-point day this season.

But for an Orange team that prides itself on spreading the ball, the scoring was surprisingly concentrated. Dragon and Joines were the only players to have more than one goal. For only the second time this year, junior Meghan O’Connell had no points.

‘Cait and I have been waiting for a few games for her and I to connect,’ Joines said. ‘The team was moving the ball well and we had periods in the game where we were able to possess.’

Joines’ fourth goal was by far the strangest of the game.

When the Eagles held the ball in the SU zone with seven minutes left, BC head coach Shari Krasnoo decided to pull starting goalie Tara McKennett in favor of freshman Courtney Zwirko. As McKennett raced to the sideline, the Orange regained possession of the ball and began to push it quickly towards the empty BC goal.

By the time McKennett reached the sideline and Zwirko could enter the playing field, Joines already had the ball in BC’s zone and fired a 30-yard shot at the empty net for her fourth goal.

The unusual goal accented a strong performance by Joines and Dragon.

‘(Dragon and Joines) played well,’ Miller said. ‘Boston College’s pressure behind was disruptive early, but Caitlyn figured it out and had a little fun.’

Published on April 16, 2005 at 12:00 pm