As soon as the play clock struck zero, the entire Syracuse sideline dashed toward the midfield circle and converged into one joyous mob.

The past 11 times the Orange took the field against Northwestern, it didn’t have that opportunity following the game.

But Sunday afternoon was different.

“Thank God,” SU attack Alyssa Murray quipped in relief after the game. “Finally.”

Using a late four-goal spurt in the second half, No. 3 Syracuse (9-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) broke a tie game and 11-year drought against the No. 7 Wildcats (4-3, 1-1 American Lacrosse) with an 11-7 victory in front of 1,254 fans at the Carrier Dome.

Seniors Katie Webster and Murray chipped in for a combined seven points, and the SU defense forced 18 turnovers to lead SU to its fifth win against a ranked opponent this season.

And in doing so, the Orange upperclassmen — who have lost to NU four times in their collegiate careers — earned a sweet dose of revenge.

“Today was about getting this done for our seniors,” head coach Gary Gait said. “Everybody bought in, and I think it makes for a great team effort.”

It was Webster that opened the scoring at the 28:13 mark of the first half with a sharp cut in front of the net. The two teams then traded blows throughout the frame, which featured three ties and two lead changes.

The Orange was able to carry a 6-4 lead into the break, but it quickly evaporated. Kaleigh Craig and Kat DeRonda both used exceptional stutter-step moves to cut to the cage for unassisted goals as the Wildcats knotted the score in the opening minutes of the second half.

Instead of succumbing to the same familiar script, though, the Orange added a plot twist.

“Even though they were able to come out and score two quick ones on us, we were able to bounce back from that and really make a good run to close out the game,” Murray said. “I think that’s very telling of our team this year, that we were able to dig deep.”

Amy Cross gave SU the lead once again with 21:37 remaining. Five minutes later, Webster lofted a beautiful touch pass to Murray in transition and the latter scored her only goal of the game to make the score 8-6.

As the lead grew to four, the Orange defense put together one of its best halves of the season — holding the Wildcats to only three shots in the final 16 minutes of the contest.

A goal by Kara Mupo with 7:40 remaining brought the score to 10-7 and provided one final NU gasp. But the Cats wouldn’t get any closer.

“(Our defense) really relies on taking away the dodger,” Gait said. “Making dodgers become feeders and then putting the pressure on them to make tough feeds. We just kept going after them.”

As the clock ticked away, the enthusiasm on the Orange bench grew more and more feverish.

Players jumping, signaling to the crowd to make noise, high-fiving one another. It was the complete opposite of the dejected Northwestern side.

Even senior Bridget Daley — hampered by a walking boot on her left foot — pogoed on the sideline throughout the game and rushed the field when it ended.

“We all just wanted to hug each other after the game because everyone played their role,” senior defender Natalie Glanell said. “We did it together.”

More impressive was the fact that SU overcame a poor day in the draw circle, as it won only 7-of-20 draws.

Gait said those numbers will have to improve going forward. But either way, he was proud of his team’s ability to gain extra possessions off turnovers and was happy for all his seniors.

For them, the fifth game against the Wildcats was the charm.

Webster said: “It’s just the greatest feeling for all of us.”

Published on March 23, 2014 at 5:58 pm

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu