Quirine Comans’ 2 goals leads No. 12 Syracuse in 3-2 win over No. 4 Louisville

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With less than three minutes remaining and down one player, Syracuse aggressively pushed into Louisville territory. Forward Charlotte De Vries could not capitalize on a breakaway opportunity, but Quirine Comans set herself in perfect position and chipped in the go-ahead goal off the rebound.

“(De Vries) just layed it up there and (Comans) was where she needed to be,” head coach Ange Bradley said. “It was just a fantastic goal.”

For Comans, it was her 14th goal on the year and second on the day. Comans and No. 12 Syracuse outlasted No. 4 Louisville with a 3-2 win following Comans’ goal in the final five minutes. Louisville had averaged just 2.06 goals allowed per game before tonight’s match, but aggressive, timely offense paved the way for the Orange’s upset victory.

“We knew we needed a goal,” Comans said. “It’s just what I do.”

Both teams began the game with stifling defense. Only one shot was taken during the entire first quarter, and the Orange didn’t give themselves any opportunity to score. Turnover piled up early as each back end wreaked havoc in each other’s zones as the turnovers piled up early.

Early in the second quarter, Louisville scored on what was thought to be the first goal of the game. But Bradley and the Orange challenged the play, contesting that the ball hit off of a Louisville player’s foot. Replay showed the kicked ball violation, which took the goal off the board.

Once SU got the ball back, things started to change for the offense. The Orange moved with a sense of urgency and started to get more offensive chances. Two minutes following the Cardinals supposed goal, SU forward Willemijn Boogert fired a lengthy shot halfway into Louisville territory. But Sasha Elliot made a diving stop to prevent a highlight play from Boogert.

Quickly after the missed opportunity for Syracuse, one of Louisville’s best chances of the match came on a penalty corner at the start of the second quarter. Twelve minutes into the game, the Cardinals successfully inserted the pass to forward Julie Kouijzer, but SU goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski dove to her right and made the save. Borzymowski set the tone early with her big save.

Just over a minute later, Syracuse’s ability to sustain their offense in the Cardinal’s zone caused them to draw their own penalty corner. Boogert had a successful insertion pass to De Vries, but it was met with a diving save by Elliot to take away a golden opportunity for the Orange.

Penalty corner execution was porous all night long. The Orange had plenty of opportunities throughout the game, but they went just 1-for-5 on the night in that area.

“The inserts were definitely a little off tonight, and when that happens everything else slows down,” Bradley said.

On the contrary, SU’s defense against Louisville penalty corners was perfect. The Cardinals went 0-for-6 on penalty corners as the Orange flawlessly fended off prime scoring opportunities. Borzymowski made numerous diving saves on Louisville’s penalty corner attempts, while the back end put themselves in great position to deny shot attempts.

Syracuse’s offense was significantly more aggressive in the second half. After totaling just three shots in the first half, the Orange tallied 10 in the second half. Seven of those took place in the 4th quarter.

Despite the lack of overall success on corners, the Orange capitalized on their final penalty corner attempt of the match. Down 2-1 with nine minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, Boogert’s insertion was on target with a pass to Comans.

Comans then fed Eefke Van Den Nieuwenhof, who passed back to Boogert. Boogert chipped the ball over a Louisville defender which netted the game tying goal.

The Orange’s first regular score of the day came with four minutes left in the third quarter, when Comans took advantage of a scrum at the front of the net. She gained possession of the ball and chipped it over the goalie to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead.