The opportunity for the Syracuse field hockey team to capture its eighth straight victory was snuffed Friday night when Villanova notched a 3-1 victory in Big East competition.

The Orange quickly recovered two days later, scoring a 4-0 shutout at Lafayette’s Rappolt Field. Senior forward Brittany Carriero moved into a tie for SU’s leading goal scorer by tallying two scores while also pouring in an assist.

Both of the matchups this weekend juxtaposed each other, with the Wildcats recording two goals in the game’s first six minutes.

Sunday, that changed. SU (9-5, 2-1 Big East) got an early 3-0 advantage over the Leopards only eight minutes into the game. SU outshot Lafayette, 26-9, and capitalized on 12 penalty corners.

On Saturday, Villanova was happy to jump on SU early.

‘That’s been our game plan this year, to score first so they have to respond,’ said Vanessa Pizzulli, a Villanova defensive back and the Big East Defensive Player of the Week. ‘We like to go out and get them back on their heels, because they have to fight to come back.’

‘They had a hole to dig out, and it’s really difficult to get out of,’ Villanova coach Joanie Milhous added. ‘Both teams tended to jump on each other, but we had the better end of it.’

Villanova (8-4, 2-1) dominated possession and made the SU defense bend, and sometimes break, by outshooting the Orange, 20-9. Goalie Betsy Wagner had 11 saves. But after awhile, something had to give.

‘We were going to every ball,’ Pizzulli said. ‘We were where we needed to be. We were firing shots and really making their defense work, because eventually it wore them down.

‘Our line has been hammering away with full force. Everyone has been so offensive lately. And when you get off as many shots as you can, one of them is bound to go in.’

Published on October 11, 2004 at 12:00 pm