Martina Loncarica has a tendency to step up in big situations. The junior midfielder had four game-winning goals coming into the weekend.

But with the conference championship on the line and No. 4 Connecticut deadlocked in a scoreless tie, Loncarica proved she still had a few late-game heroics left in her bag of tricks.

Just under six minutes into double overtime on Saturday, Loncarica took a pass from freshman Leonie Geyer on a penalty corner and blasted the game-winning goal into the right corner of the cage for a 1-0 victory. The goal clinched SU’s third straight Big East regular season title, locked up the top seed in the conference tournament and lifted the No. 8 Orange (12-4, 5-0 Big East) to its fifth overtime win of the season.

‘We’re pretty much professionals at overtime, so (it’s) like our thing,’ junior back Nicole Nelson said. ‘We’re always really confident when we go into overtime. We really, really wanted this game, so we didn’t think about losing at all.’

Nelson and the rest of the SU defense maintained that confidence throughout Saturday’s game against UConn (13-4, 3-2 Big East), which averages three goals per game. Sunday, the Orange used that confidence to defeat No. 14 Boston College, 3-2.

Against the Huskies, sophomore goalkeeper Leann Stiver was a wall behind them with 11 saves in her return to the field after missing three games.

The defense stayed strong during a number of UConn’s opportunities, including a key stretch of the first overtime during which the Huskies seemed to be on the brink of snatching the game away. Freshman back Laura Hahnefeldt was sent off with a yellow card for nearly the final five minutes of the period, but several defensive stops and a miraculous diving save by Stiver kept the Orange alive. SU always found a way to come up with a stop, despite being outshot 15-11, and head coach Ange Bradley said that resiliency was the decisive factor in the game.

‘I have to give the kids a lot of credit, they stepped up and they competed,’ Bradley said. ‘It was very much a defensive battle. UConn is just such a good team and such a good program, and it was a matter of who was finally going to break.’

Bradley said the thrill of the victory over a top-five team provided momentum heading into Sunday’s game against Boston College (10-6). But there were negative lingering effects as well. As a result of the length and intensity of the UConn game, fatigue and a lack of focus were potential issues for the Orange.

But despite players performing at less than full strength, the Orange found enough stamina to win, again riding the strength of the defenders to a victory over the Golden Eagles. Sophomore back Amy Kee assisted on a goal by sophomore back Iona Holloway on a corner and added a goal of her own, and Loncarica fittingly provided the game winner on a penalty stroke with 5:11 remaining.

Kee said practice during the week focused more on UConn, but the preparation carried over because BC has a similar playing style. One of the main aspects of getting ready for the Huskies was working exhaustingly on penalty corners, and that made a significant difference on Sunday as SU was able to convert in that situation.

‘It was a major thing for us because we’ve had a history of not scoring goals against UConn, so we practiced that a lot this week,’ Kee said. ‘We scored the first goal from that today, and obviously it was very important to get on the scoreboard.’

The extensive mental and physical preparation have paid off for Bradley’s squad, not only with the Big East title but also the current five-game winning streak that includes four victories over ranked opponents. Amid the many lineup changes and cloud of questions about the team’s unity, the streak and performance from the weekend have Bradley optimistic about SU’s potential to close out the season.

‘I’m really excited about the growth of our team, and we’re really starting to come together,’ Bradley said. ‘To get back-to-back wins at this time of year against two top teams, it says so much for Syracuse.’

jakrakow@syr.edu