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In Syracuse’s last game on Sept. 1, its opponent, No. 16 Penn State, came out aggressive but the Orange quickly matched. SU held on for a 2-1 win in the contest.

Unlike against the Nittany Lions, Syracuse wasn’t prepared for Ohio State’s aggressive nature. Just one minute into the contest, Syracuse was called for its first penalty corner of the afternoon and the Buckeyes capitalized to take a lead they never relinquished. After a 2-0 start to 2024 for the Orange, No. 10 Syracuse (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) was dominated 5-0 by No. 14 Ohio State (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Sunday.

“This (performance) is not what we were proud of,” SU head coach Lynn Farquhar said postgame.

On the early penalty shot attempt, the Orange almost escaped unharmed due to an errant shot. Instead, Ohio State regained control and forced a second penalty corner. This time, the Buckeyes found the back of the net.

Katie Fichtner fired past SU goaltender Louise Pert to put Ohio State up. Less than a minute and a half into the game, the Orange started to unravel.

“The fire has to be there from the start,” Farquhar said. “That (aggressive style) is something our group should have been prepared for.”

Ohio State controlled the entire first half. With their tenacious offense, the Buckeyes defense suffocated Syracuse’s offense. SU’s offense didn’t get its first shot on goal until halfway through the second quarter. For the overwhelming majority of the first half, the ball was deep in the Orange’s territory.

“Our first layered pressure has to be solid,” Farquhar said. “The ball shouldn’t be in the circle at the start of our game.”

In addition to the team’s first layer of defense struggling, Syracuse’s goaltending also took a step back. The Orange managed just three saves while giving up five goals. All five goals came against Pert.

She was removed from the game after surrendering two more goals in the second half as freshman Vera Hekkenberg stepped in place of Pert. The two goalies have been splitting time to start the season.

The second half started similarly to the first. Despite trailing 3-0, Ohio State was still the aggressor. Less than one minute into the half, Ohio State forced another penalty corner. Cameryn Forgash scored the fourth goal of the game off the corner. While Ohio State created its own luck with its aggressive play style, Syracuse looked chaotic and out of sorts.

With nine minutes to play in the first half, senior Willemijn Boogert was issued a green card. Late in the fourth quarter, Boogert again was issued a penalty, this time a yellow card, forcing the senior veteran to miss five minutes.

Despite the Orange being the higher-ranked team, Ohio State dominated. Syracuse didn’t force a penalty until six minutes into the second half, while the Buckeyes already forced five on the day.

“We learned a lot about ourselves today, things that we have to change ASAP,” Farquhar said. “I think we will come back stronger.”

Published on September 8, 2024 at 5:40 pm