No. 20 Notre Dame frustrates Syracuse in 1-1 draw
Tony Curtis | Staff Photographer
Sydney Brackett and a Notre Dame player fight for the ball during Sunday's 1-1 tie. The Orange last tied or beat a ranked opponent Sept. 22, 2013 when it tied No. 18 Duke, 2-2.
Kaleigh Olmsted received a pass and saw open field in front of her in the 76th minute. As she burst ahead with the ball, Syracuse’s Alana O’Neill, in an act of desperation, lunged her body out to bring Olmsted down.
Olmsted jumped right up and rushed to take the following free kick. O’Neill, clearly irritated, jumped in her face. Olmsted shoved her back and yelled at her.
“That’s the type of confrontation you find in the ACC,” O’Neill said. “I was frustrated with them playing quickly so I went in her face to prevent the short pass.”
Syracuse was justified in its frustration. The Orange had blown chance after chance in the box throughout the second half. Despite totaling 14 shots by game’s end, SU (7-1-2, 0-0-1 Atlantic Coast) was marred by poor finishing in a 1-1 tie to No. 20 Notre Dame (5-1-3, 0-0-1).
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The last time Syracuse beat or tied a ranked opponent was Sept. 22, 2013, when the Orange tied No. 18 Duke, 2-2.
“Lack of composure,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “In ACC play, you have less time and space than you think you have. We have to take shots sooner.”
The Fighting Irish dominated possession for the first 20 minutes but were unable to capitalize, thanks to Courtney Brosnan. In the first eight minutes, Brosnan made three diving saves, earning applause from the crowd. She finished the game with six saves.
Syracuse finally got a legitimate opportunity on a corner kick in the 33rd minute. Jessica Vigna crossed it to Stephanie Skilton, who despite facing the other way, headed the ball off the top right post. The ball bounced to Eva Gordon, who fired it into the net.
But that proved to be Syracuse’s best shot on net. The Orange attack consisted of three tendencies: inaccurate corner kicks and crosses, overshooting through balls to forwards and shots in the box that sailed nowhere near goalkeeper Kaela Little.
In the 53rd minute, Notre Dame capitalized on its own corner. Taylor Klawunder headed a cross toward the bottom right corner. Maddie Iozzi stretched out her leg but it narrowly went into the net.
The game stayed tied entering into sudden death overtime. Right after the kickoff, Gordon sped past her defender and received a perfect pass forward from Sheridan Street.
Gordon missed wide left.
Brosnan, who had jumped up and down in hopes of a game-winner, fell straight to the ground in disbelief. The teams hardly had real chances on net through two periods of extra time.
“We have to capitalize on the chances we do get,” Gordon said, “because in the ACC those opportunities are going to get slimmer and slimmer.”
Published on September 18, 2016 at 6:57 pm
Contact Byron: brtollef@syr.edu
