Alana O’Neill scored twice to lift Syracuse (1-0-1) to a 2-0 victory over Delaware (0-2-0) on Sunday afternoon, SU’s first home game of the season. The win follows Friday’s draw against Colgate, where Syracuse outshot the Raiders 22-5 but was unable to come away with the win.

“We didn’t play nearly as composed as we did today,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “A win is great for your confidence and I thought it was a very convincing one as far as statistics go.”

With the rain pouring down, the Orange dominated possession in the first half but was unable to capitalize with a goal. From the 24th to the 32nd minutes, Syracuse fired six shots but none slid past goalkeeper Kailyn Rekos. The junior tallied four saves in the first half to keep the Blue Hens competitive early on.

Syracuse’s onslaught continued after the 32nd minute as Jessica Vigna attempted four corner kicks. The Delaware defense, however, held its ground until the end of the half. The Orange had totaled 10 shots and 11 corner kicks by the break but had nothing to show for it.

Growing restless entering the second half, the Orange caught a break and was finally able to break the game open. In the 53rd minute Alex Lamontagne laid a beautiful cross which Alana O’Neill lasered into the net.

“Our service into the box was fantastic and I thought we created a number of good chances,” Wheddon said. “Obviously you hope to get some good individual performances and I thought we had that today from three or four different people.”

Syracuse continued to apply offensive pressure as it kept the ball in Delaware’s half. In the 70th minute, freshman Taylor Bennett’s shot hit the post, but O’Neill was there to knock it in for her second goal of the day. O’Neill replicated her performance from October 2014 against Boston College, where she led the Orange with two goals in a 3-0 victory. Her two goals today were her first since that match.

Syracuse outshot Delaware 18-3 on the day. Junior goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan faced little action from the Blue Hens’s offense with just a single shot on goal. Outside of O’Neill’s two-goal afternoon, Lamontagne and freshman Sydney Brackett were active on the attack with four and three shots, respectively.

“We’ve played four freshmen so far and the impact they’ve been having is fantastic,” Wheddon said. “I really like where we are at the moment.”

Syracuse continues its four-game homestand against Army on Friday at 3 p.m.

Published on August 21, 2016 at 4:24 pm

Contact Byron: brtollef@syr.edu