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Six minutes into Syracuse’s season opener, Niagara’s defense committed a mistake.

At the back of Niagara’s defense, Ashley Rauch slotted the ball to Meghan Root for a shot attempt. Root scored, and Rauch wheeled off in celebration as the Orange took a 1-0 lead.

But Syracuse’s early success deteriorated throughout the rest of the match, as poor communication on its own defensive end and strong counterattacks from Niagara resulted in a 4-2 defeat.

Syracuse (1-1, Atlantic Coast Conference) was exposed in transition throughout its season-opener loss against Niagara (1-1, Metro Atlantic Athletic Coast Conference) on Thursday. The Orange won the possession battle, scored first and topped Niagara 20-6 in shots and 9-2 in corner kicks. But their transition defense crumpled, allowing Niagara forward Florence Vaillancourt to score on all three of her attempts.

Syracuse head coach Nicky Adams said that the team’s communication struggles in its defense up the team’s communication struggles at the back partly due to inexperience.

“You got three brand new players playing with Jenna (Tivnan) and Lysianne (Proulx) back there,” Adams said. “(We need) constant repetition and to put them under pressure in training sessions and try to replicate game stuff as quick as possible,” Adams said.

The Orange have 15 newcomers on their roster, including five starters. At almost every level SU also has a lot of youth, including freshmen midfielders Pauline Machtens and Koby Commandant, freshman center back Emma Klein and sophomore transfer Zoe Van de Cloot.

Despite Syracuse being able to force Niagara into long stretches on defense, the Purple Eagles took advantage of defensive positioning by the Orange, with efficient finishes to their chances. Niagara’s four goals all came in spurts after stretches of extensive possession by Syracuse. And both times the Purple Eagles scored in a period, they followed it up with another score just four minutes later.

Syracuse’s offense struggled against Niagara’s adjustments after Root’s goal, Adams said.

“They weren’t stepping up and pressing us, but they were also dropping their backs really deep to where there was almost a wall of four and a wall of four. It was really hard trying to pickpocket and get into spaces to get in behind,” Adams said.

Despite its inability to find holes in Niagara’s defense, Syracuse controlled possession early in the contest. In the opening 15 minutes, the Orange earned four corner kicks and five shots.

On defense, Syracuse repeatedly pinned the Purple Eagles to their own third in the opening span. But the defense started to play sloppy, and slow play at the back cost the Orange their explosive start. In the 23rd minute, Vaillancourt connected to a cross at the back post and tied the contest. Four minutes later, the junior capitalized on poor defensive positioning and fired the ball into the bottom left to give Niagara a 2-1 lead.

Adams said she wanted the team to spend more time with the ball to avoid defending. But she was disappointed in Syracuse’s inability to fall back on defense, specifically at midfield. On numerous occasions the Orange would lose the ball in midfield, allowing Niagara to spring forward and catch SU out of position.

Once the Purple Eagles cleared the midfield, they finished clinically in the box with all four scores coming off assists.

The Orange came out of the halftime break trailing by one score, though they still dominated possession during the first 15 minutes of the half. Root made several runs down the left flank, but none resulted in goals.

In the 59th minute — one of the first times the Purple Eagles gained possession all half — Vaillancourt put Niagara up 3-1 with her third goal of the game. Just four minutes later, Niagara’s defense gained possession again, and Djeynaba Thiam streaked down the field on a fast break to make it 4-1.

The Orange continued to pepper balls into the box off set pieces but were unable to score until the 89th minute when Natalie Weidenbach’s corner deflected off Niagara’s goalie Felicia Grufman and into the net.

Still, with the squad’s youth, Adams said adversity this early in the season can help the team grow.

“We’re extremely youthful,” Adams said. “We’re going through some learning curves. I actually think it’s good for us to face a little bit of adversity early on in the season so we can feel it now, and later on we can handle it better.”

Published on August 26, 2021 at 10:44 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu