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Through two games in 2024, Syracuse had gone unscathed. The Orange dominated Lock Haven 9-0 on Aug. 30 before holding on for a 2-1 win over No. 16 Penn State. For the second straight game, SU faced another test, matching up with No. 14 Ohio State.

In its first meeting with the Buckeyes since 2014, No. 10 Syracuse (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) was blanked, falling 5-0. Ohio State (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) recorded just three more shots than SU, but scored on 63% of its shots on goal. The Orange failed to record a shot until the second quarter while getting shut out for the first time since falling 4-0 to then-No. 9 ranked Duke on Sept. 15, 2023.

As the first quarter began, SU immediately fell behind. Just two and a half minutes in, Ohio State had forced two penalty corners, capitalizing on one of them with a goal from Katie Fichtner. 45 seconds later, Ohio State received a penalty stroke but Syracuse goaltender Louise Pert denied Makenna Webster.

Just minutes later, SU’s Willemijn Boogert received a green card, leading OSU to continue its offensive dominance.

Ohio State ended the first quarter with another goal scored by Brenna Bough from quick movement after a penalty corner. The Buckeyes took eight shots in the first quarter, five of them on goal, while SU was held to zero in both categories.

“That’s Big Ten (field) hockey. Some things hit, and we should’ve been prepared for it,” Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar said postgame. “Our positions rotated a bit. That’s not an excuse. We needed to step up and be stronger.”

Along with being held to no shots in the first quarter, Syracuse didn’t have a penalty corner.

As the second quarter began, the Buckeyes immediately pressed Syracuse’s defense again. Two minutes in, Ohio State lined up for its second penalty strole of the game. Webster converted, putting SU behind 3-0.

Syracuse finally had its first shot of the game seven minutes into the second quarter when Lieke Leeggangers shot wide left. Though Ohio State controlled the ball for most of the second quarter, SU found itself with more opportunities in that time. Syracuse had four shots compared to OSU’s one. Two of Syracuse’s four were on goal, but none of them reached the back of the net.

The Orange recorded their first shot on goal with six minutes left in the first half. Hattie Madden fired an attempt, but was quickly saved by Ohio State’s Abby Danson. Madden’s attempt was Syracuse’s lone shot on goal in the first half.

Following halftime, Pert came back in net. It marked the first game of the season in which Pert was not subbed out at halftime, but the Orange continued to struggle.

Similar to the first and second quarters, Syracuse struggled to avoid penalties, and Ohio State continued to capitalize. 44 seconds into the third quarter, the Buckeyes extended their lead again. Bough fired a deflected shot, which Cameryn Forgash got to first. Forgash converted the chance to make it 4-0. 70 seconds later, Hallie Brost scored Ohio State’s fifth and final goal.

Immediately after Brost’s goal, Syracuse made a goalie switch, bringing in Vera Hekkenberg.

“They’ve been splitting time right now and we’ve been intentional on that,” Farquhar said.”There’s times when we thought the communication would’ve been a highlight but that was a coach’s call. Both are doing great and can step in and play that position well.”

Facing a five-goal deficit, Syracuse created a couple more chances, both coming on penalty corners. Two shots from Taja Gans were not enough to get past Danson, who ended the contest with six saves.

The fourth quarter was slow for both teams as neither fired a single shot. Boogert received a yellow card with six minutes left and the Orange were forced to play down a player for five minutes.

Throughout the game, SU’s offense lacked the aggressiveness that it showed in its previous contests. The Orange were without defender Bo van Kempen, who led them in goals through the first two contests. Van Kempen missed the contest due to personal reasons, Farquhar revealed postgame.

“She’s a huge component of our team,” Farquhar said. “Our goal as a team was to step up and take care of (each other). We did not do that as well as we would’ve liked to, but we learned a lot about ourselves today. There are some things that we have to change (as soon as possible) and our players know that. We’ll come back stronger.”

Published on September 8, 2024 at 6:57 pm

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