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Syracuse women’s soccer registered just one shot on target in the first half of its 2023 home opener.

Ninety seconds into SU’s match against Auburn, forward Erin Flurey ripped a shot from 20 yards out, aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal. Auburn goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska sprawled to her right and pushed the ball away from the goal to squash the scoring opportunity.

After that, the Orange remained scoreless for the ensuing 43 minutes. Syracuse’s lack of offense, which resulted from an inability to build possession out of its back third, culminated in a 2-1 loss to Auburn.

From start to finish, the Tigers pressed SU’s back line, causing multiple turnovers. Despite Syracuse’s midfielders and forwards checking back to the ball, possession was controlled by Auburn during the opening 25 minutes. When center backs Grace Gillard and Kylen Grant possessed the ball, the Orange’s outside backs were nowhere to be found for support.

Auburn’s consistent pressure, along with Syracuse’s sloppy touches, allowed the Tigers to outshoot Syracuse 8-2 in the first half. Despite the large margin in shots, SU only trailed 1-0 at the break.

The slim one-goal deficit could have grown if not for SU goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch. After shutting out Siena in a 3-0 win four days earlier, she collected eight saves, three of which came in the first half of Thursday’s match.

“One of the things we know we will always get out of Shea is she is one of the best shot stoppers in the nation,” Syracuse head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said.

The first half struggles for Syracuse to hold possession seemed of a panicky nature — a product of Auburn’s aggressive nature. The Tigers’ defense did not allow SU room to turn which forced ball carriers to produce turnovers and poor passes.

When Syracuse held possession its best option was usually to retreat. In their back third, the Orange delivered the ball back to Vanderbosch to “switch the field.” But although Vanderbosch was able to distribute the ball to both flanks, Auburn’s attack did well to block off passing lanes.

At the 24 minute mark, Gillard received a pass from Vanderbosch. She had no right wing option to play the ball to as Alyssa Abramson was already up the field. Gillard attempted to force a pass through a tight window to Flurey who checked back near midfield but Auburn’s Sydney Richards intercepted it.

Richards played the ball to Anna Haddock along the right edge of the box. Haddock took one touch and shot to the bottom left corner. Vanderbosch parried the ball with her right hand but the rebound fell to an unmarked Marissa Arias for an easy tap-in goal. The ten-second War Eagle move summed up a full 90 minutes of Syracuse struggles.

Before the start of the second half, coach Thrasher Adams said the offensive struggles were caused by the forwards being “so far away from each other ” and the spacing being “too big.” So, for the remaining 45, SU picked up the pace. The team took less touches and moved the ball quickly to combat Auburn’s swift style of play.

“Once we started calming down and were able to unlock and break lines we became more dangerous going forward and that’s exactly what we did in the second half,” Thrasher-Adams said.

Although the Orange played quicker, Auburn struck again in the second half. At the 61 minute mark, Tigers right center back LJ Knox stood at the back post for an Auburn corner. Vanderbosch punched away Mallory Mooney’s delivery but the ball fell to Knox’s right foot.

Knox pelted Abramson on the goal line. Her shot deflected off Abramson to give Auburn a commanding 2-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, Flurey earned a free kick along the right sideline. Kate Murphy struck a left footed in-swinging pass to the middle of the six yard line. Gillard met the ball at the spot and headed it towards the right goal post. Prohaska lunged forward to block but Hannah Pilley got there first. Pilley tipped the ball past the Auburn keeper for a Syracuse goal.

Now, just one goal away from drawing level, the Orange ramped up the pressure on Auburn’s midfielders. SU stifled the Tigers by limiting them to a maximum of just two touches.

But Auburn was unfazed. Its movement continued to stay impressive and balanced. Its offense drove through the SU midfield. When Orange defenders rushed to the ball, the Tigers’ attack would counter with a switch of the field, allowing for shooting opportunities.

By the final whistle, Auburn outshot Syracuse 16-8. Out of SU’s eight total shots, only two of them came on target.

Published on August 24, 2023 at 7:35 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky