Syracuse’s high-pressure zone has anchored its defense this season

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After Sam Swart missed a strike that would’ve given Syracuse its first lead of the afternoon after halftime, Virginia barreled down the field in transition.

The Cavaliers looked to take a quick 12-11 lead on a counterattack, but SU had already switched into its high-pressure zone defense to combat the attack. Multiple Syracuse defenders swarmed UVA’s Lillie Kloak, and Sarah Cooper forced the ball out of Kloak’s stick to send SU’s offense back the other way in transition.

Two passes after the clear, Megan Carney caught the Cavaliers’ defense unprepared and gave SU a 12-11 lead, a lead it would never surrender.

“When (the defense) gets a good transition and they’re pushing hard, it builds so much energy and so much momentum for us,” attack Meaghan Tyrrell said postgame on April 10. “Everyone gets hyped up. Having those stops is so crucial for us.”

Against Virginia, the Orange (14-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast) erased a three-goal halftime deficit with the setup. And, if Syracuse needs to preserve a lead or slow down the opponent’s attack, SU has turned to its high-pressure defense in almost every game this season. It starts as the opposing attacks cross the midfield line, and continues as SU’s defenders face guard all the way until the cage. This season, the Orange lead the ACC in ground balls per game (17.12) and rank second in caused turnovers per game (9.29).

Nine minutes into the Orange’s season-opening win over Loyola, the draw made its way into the Greyhounds’ half. Maria Kiskis tried to connect a pass over Carney’s head to a teammate, but Sierra Cockerille intercepted the pass.

Yiwei He | Design Editor

Cockerille, who was face-guarding the Loyola player the pass was intended for, cradled the ball and headed the other way to Emily Hawryschuk. Hawryschuk sent a strike low into the back of the net to hand SU the lead for the remainder of the afternoon. Syracuse caused 10 turnovers in its 18-6 win, the first of eight games that it recorded double-digits in the category.

“We returned all of our defenders from last year, people who were hitting their rhythm last year, and they just continued to build their chemistry,” head coach Gary Gait said after the season-opener.

Syracuse’s defense held its first three opponents to 17 combined goals, but its high-pressure defense had issues following the opening stretch.

The Orange overcommitted frequently, with two players face-guarding the same opponent and abandoning both their zones.

Against Notre Dame, with the Orange up 5-2, UND’s Jackie Wolak caught the ball at the top of the 8-meter and SU defenders Ella Simkins and Grace Fahey collapsed on Wolak with their sticks. Wolak pump-faked, and Simkins and Fahey almost collided as the attack rifled a shot to the top right corner of the net.

The Orange came alive with a 5-0 run, helping improve communication on their high-pressure defense. The unit made sure opposing attacks without the ball were covered, and that an SU defender pressed their stick into the ball carrier.

When Notre Dame’s Jessi Masinko made her way to the top of the 8-meter from her position behind the net, Kerry Defliese and Fahey repeatedly hit Masinko’s stick with theirs. Instead of double-teaming like the first half, Defliese dropped down and intercepted Masinko’s pass.

Gait said SU’s second-half dominance was because of halftime adjustments, which included tampering with the zone. When Syracuse trailed against Virginia at halftime, Gait said SU shifted to a “packed in” zone instead of the high-pressure zone.

Goalie Asa Goldstock speaks with the team at halftime to make those adjustments as well, coming back onto the field early to practice guarding shots from particular spots that the opposition preferred. Against Virginia Tech on March 27, both Goldstock and the overall defense’s adjustments led SU’s comeback win.

“It’s huge having their energy when they have a stop, when they cause turnovers,” Tyrrell said. “The defense works for us, (so) we’re going to work for them to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Despite SU’s win over UVA, Gait emphasized that the zone has flaws that the Cavaliers didn’t expose. They drove straight to goal, forcing SU to capitalize on double-teams, he said, which plays into the strengths of SU’s high-pressure zone. If UVA had moved the ball more instead of charging ahead, the Orange wouldn’t have applied as much pressure.

SU’s aggressive defense also exposes holes in the center of the zone created by players face-guarding an opposing attack who gets forced out of their zone and into the middle of the 8-meter arc. In the Orange’s first loss of the season. No. 1 UNC exploited the center of SU’s zone.

The zone has a weak spot behind the net, one of the only spots that SU has trouble defending. And by pressuring attacks behind the cage, the Orange allow cutters to roam freely. Four minutes in against UNC, Scottie Rose Growney darted down the 8-meter arc and received a pass from Tayler Warehime, who was behind the goal. The Tar Heels scored and tied the game at 1-1.

“When you play a zone defense, you always have people open in the middle, but you hope you get enough pressure that they can’t find those players who are open,” Gait said after the 17-6 loss to UNC. “They found those openings.”

In the ACC Tournament title game, Syracuse changed its high-pressure zone into a regular “backer” zone that focused on defending inside the 8-meter and held North Carolina to a season-low in goals. Gait said SU made the adjustment because its defense spread out too much in the previous matchup.

“The last time we were pressing them out. Whenever they got the ball, they would spread us out,” Gait said after the ACC title game. “Today, we packed it in.”

This season, the Orange lead the ACC in ground balls per game (17.12) and second in caused turnovers per game (9.29). Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA Today Sports

The Orange relied on Defliese, who maintained a presence behind the cage to prevent a repeat of the first matchup. In the second half, Katie Hoeg, who’s third in the ACC in points per game, positioned herself behind the net. Hoeg saw an open UNC player inside the 8-meter, but Defliese threw her body into the passing lane and knocked the ball to the ground.

This season, Syracuse turned to the high-pressure defense and likely will continue to during parts of the NCAA Tournament. But Gait and the Orange have the defensive flexibility, and experience, to elect when to use it, and when not to.

“Our defense played an amazing game, they were tremendous today,” Gait said after the 9-4 loss. “(They) kept giving us chances to try and crawl back.”

After Sam Swart missed a strike that would’ve given Syracuse its first lead of the afternoon after halftime, Virginia barreled down the field in transition.

The Cavaliers looked to take a quick 12-11 lead on a counterattack, but SU had already switched into its high-pressure zone defense to combat the attack. Multiple Syracuse defenders swarmed UVA’s Lillie Kloak, and Sarah Cooper forced the ball out of Kloak’s stick to send SU’s offense back the other way in transition.

Two passes after the clear, Megan Carney caught the Cavaliers’ defense unprepared and gave SU a 12-11 lead, a lead it would never surrender.

“When (the defense) gets a good transition and they’re pushing hard, it builds so much energy and so much momentum for us,” attack Meaghan Tyrrell said postgame on April 10. “Everyone gets hyped up. Having those stops is so crucial for us.”

Against Virginia, the Orange (14-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast) erased a three-goal halftime deficit with the setup. And, if Syracuse needs to preserve a lead or slow down the opponent’s attack, SU has turned to its high-pressure defense in almost every game this season. It starts as the opposing attacks cross the midfield line, and continues as SU’s defenders face guard all the way until the cage. This season, the Orange lead the ACC in ground balls per game (17.12) and rank second in caused turnovers per game (9.29).

Nine minutes into the Orange’s season-opening win over Loyola, the draw made its way into the Greyhounds’ half. Maria Kiskis tried to connect a pass over Carney’s head to a teammate, but Sierra Cockerille intercepted the pass.

Cockerille, who was face-guarding the Loyola player the pass was intended for, cradled the ball and headed the other way to Emily Hawryschuk. Hawryschuk sent a strike low into the back of the net to hand SU the lead for the remainder of the afternoon. Syracuse caused 10 turnovers in its 18-6 win, the first of eight games that it recorded double-digits in the category.

“We returned all of our defenders from last year, people who were hitting their rhythm last year, and they just continued to build their chemistry,” head coach Gary Gait said after the season-opener.

Syracuse’s defense held its first three opponents to 17 combined goals, but its high-pressure defense had issues following the opening stretch.

The Orange overcommitted frequently, with two players face-guarding the same opponent and abandoning both their zones.

Against Notre Dame, with the Orange up 5-2, UND’s Jackie Wolak caught the ball at the top of the 8-meter and SU defenders Ella Simkins and Grace Fahey collapsed on Wolak with their sticks. Wolak pump-faked, and Simkins and Fahey almost collided as the attack rifled a shot to the top right corner of the net.

The Orange came alive with a 5-0 run, helping improve communication on their high-pressure defense. The unit made sure opposing attacks without the ball were covered, and that an SU defender pressed their stick into the ball carrier.

When Notre Dame’s Jessi Masinko made her way to the top of the 8-meter from her position behind the net, Kerry Defliese and Fahey repeatedly hit Masinko’s stick with theirs. Instead of double-teaming like the first half, Defliese dropped down and intercepted Masinko’s pass.

Gait said SU’s second-half dominance was because of halftime adjustments, which included tampering with the zone. When Syracuse trailed against Virginia at halftime, Gait said SU shifted to a “packed in” zone instead of the high-pressure zone.

Goalie Asa Goldstock speaks with the team at halftime to make those adjustments as well, coming back onto the field early to practice guarding shots from particular spots that the opposition preferred. Against Virginia Tech on March 27, both Goldstock and the overall defense’s adjustments led SU’s comeback win.

“It’s huge having their energy when they have a stop, when they cause turnovers,” Tyrrell said. “The defense works for us, (so) we’re going to work for them to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Despite SU’s win over UVA, Gait emphasized that the zone has flaws that the Cavaliers didn’t expose. They drove straight to goal, forcing SU to capitalize on double-teams, he said, which plays into the strengths of SU’s high-pressure zone. If UVA had moved the ball more instead of charging ahead, the Orange wouldn’t have applied as much pressure.

SU’s aggressive defense also exposes holes in the center of the zone created by players face-guarding an opposing attack who gets forced out of their zone and into the middle of the 8-meter arc. In the Orange’s first loss of the season. No. 1 UNC exploited the center of SU’s zone.

The zone has a weak spot behind the net, one of the only spots that SU has trouble defending. And by pressuring attacks behind the cage, the Orange allow cutters to roam freely. Four minutes in against UNC, Scottie Rose Growney darted down the 8-meter arc and received a pass from Tayler Warehime, who was behind the goal. The Tar Heels scored and tied the game at 1-1.

“When you play a zone defense, you always have people open in the middle, but you hope you get enough pressure that they can’t find those players who are open,” Gait said after the 17-6 loss to UNC. “They found those openings.”

In the ACC Tournament title game, Syracuse changed its high-pressure zone into a regular “backer” zone that focused on defending inside the 8-meter and held North Carolina to a season-low in goals. Gait said SU made the adjustment because its defense spread out too much in the previous matchup.

“The last time we were pressing them out. Whenever they got the ball, they would spread us out,” Gait said after the ACC title game. “Today, we packed it in.”

The Orange relied on Defliese, who maintained a presence behind the cage to prevent a repeat of the first matchup. In the second half, Katie Hoeg, who’s third in the ACC in points per game, positioned herself behind the net. Hoeg saw an open UNC player inside the 8-meter, but Defliese threw her body into the passing lane and knocked the ball to the ground.

This season, Syracuse turned to the high-pressure defense and likely will continue to during parts of the NCAA Tournament. But Gait and the Orange have the defensive flexibility, and experience, to elect when to use it, and when not to.

“Our defense played an amazing game, they were tremendous today,” Gait said after the 9-4 loss. “(They) kept giving us chances to try and crawl back.”