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Syracuse defender Kate Murphy raised her arm and wiped in a corner kick from the right side of the field to the back post in the fourth minute. As the ball was in the air, Erin Flurey came crashing to the floor after being entangled with NC State defender Jenna Butler. 

During the play, Butler’s arm made contact with the ball, forcing the referee to blow her whistle and point to the penalty spot. Through all the arguing and pleading from NC State, freshman defender Grace Gillard was given a penalty kick.

After a deep breath, Gillard fired the ball into the top right corner, sending NC State goalkeeper, Maria Echezarreta, the wrong way, giving SU an early lead against the Wolfpack.

Syracuse (8-7-3, 1-5-3 Atlantic Coast) continued the trend of solid corner kick plays in its 1-1 draw against NC State (7-7-5, 2-6-2 ACC) in the final game of the regular season. The Orange entered the game averaging six corner kicks a game. Tonight, they had five corner kicks alone in the first half and nine in total, nearly doubling the Wolfpack’s total for the match. Syracuse generated its best chances from the corner flags.

“We created a lot but unfortunately didn’t get on the end of them. But, we have been so dangerous all year. That’s a big part of teams when they scout us”, Syracuse head coach Nicky Adams said. 

SU continued to create chances from the corners in the 27th minute, having another one from the right side. Facing the hill, Murphy delivered another whipping ball to the back post. Syracuse defender Emma Klein got a head to the ball and shot at the left post. But, Echezarreta got a hand to it, clawing the ball out of bounds along the left side. But, that did not clear the danger. SU was right back at the corner flags, this time on the far left flag stick.

The ball curled in and eventually trickled out to the opposite side and Syracuse defender Jenna Tivan picked it up. She took one touch and zipped a shot that was blocked by a heap of Wolfpack defenders, drawing some shouts of handball. 

But the whistle never came. Just a couple of seconds after the block, the ball found Blue Ellis. Ellis fired a shot, but again, the Wolfpack held strong and deflected it away.  

Now, the solid set-piece play was not all offense for the Orange. NC State put a high looping ball in from the right side in the 41st minute. Wolfpack defender Mia Vaughan got a strong head to it forcing SU senior keeper Michaela Walsh to react quickly and make a save. NC State also had some corners in the 28th and 39th minute that the Orange handled.

The pressure from Syracuse’s corners did not stop at half. In the 49th minute, now attacking toward the athletic center, SU got its best chance in the second half. From the left side, Syracuse midfielder Gianna Savella whipped in another dangerous ball. 

It floated and bounced just in front of the six-yard box. Gillard got a touch to it and powered the ball past an out-of-positioned Echezarreta. But, the shot found the foot of a Wolfpack defender who cleared the ball off the line with a thunderous kick. 

The Wolfpack would eventually break through the SU defense in the 70th minute. NC State forward Jameese Joseph gained possession of the left side before taking it past two SU defenders and finishing around Walsh at the near left post.

Both NC and SU had some half-chances in the last 20 minutes. But, nobody could break the deadlock and find a last minute-winner.  

Published on October 28, 2022 at 12:20 am