Syracuse finishes season at No. 11 in final coaches poll

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Syracuse finished the 2020-21 season at No. 11 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll, remaining in the same spot as last week despite losing two games.

The Orange won their first three games of the spring season but lost the ensuing four to end the regular season. They finished the combined fall and spring season with a .500 record. The Orange were 4-6 in conference play.

The Orange lost to then-No. 13 Virginia 2-1 on April 16. Sophomore Hailey Bitters scored a diving goal off a pass from Pleun Lammers, and Syracuse took seven more shots than the Cavaliers. But UVA’s Annie McDonough snuck behind the Syracuse defense in the 55th minute and tipped in a shot past Emily Streib for the win.

Syracuse followed the loss with two-goal comeback that fell short in overtime against top-ranked North Carolina on April 18. Lammers scored two goals to spearhead a comeback, but head coach Ange Bradley was ejected in the second half. The Orange looked fatigued in overtime, ultimately losing on a golden goal from Erin Matson. Syracuse won just two out of the six overtime games it played this season.

Four Syracuse players were named to All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams on Thursday, including Charlotte de Vries and Eefke van den Nieuwenhof (first team), and Laura Graziosi and Lammers (second team).