No. 11 Syracuse scores all 4 goals on penalty corners in 4th straight win
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Charlotte de Vries secured a pass on a Syracuse penalty corner halfway through the second quarter, bringing her stick behind her body to fire off a shot. The senior rocketed the ball past the outstretched arms of Stanford goalie Daisy Ford to take an early 1-0 lead.
“Our forwards really stepped it up with how they were able to shoot on goal,” Eefke van den Nieuwenhof said. “(They) looked really good today.”
In No. 11 Syracuse’s (11-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) 4-0 win over Stanford (3-6, 1-2 Pacific Athletic), the Orange’s offense dominated throughout the game, scoring four goals on 18 shots. Syracuse’s defense shut out the Cardinal, allowing two shots and one penalty corner. The Orange won their fourth straight game and have won seven of their last eight.
Syracuse dominated possession from the start. With four minutes left in the first quarter, SU received its first penalty corner of the game. De Vries blasted a shot, but Ford saved it.
One minute later, the Orange received another penalty corner. De Vries took a pass from Willemijn Boogert and dished the ball to van den Nieuwenhof, who launched a shot right off the goalpost. Syracuse would tally a third shot with two minutes left in the quarter, but the game remained scoreless through the first 15 minutes.
Stanford’s first scoring opportunity came with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Cardinal received a penalty corner after a green card was given to Lieke Leeggangers. Megan Frost passed the ball to Cara Sambeth, who lined a shot in the direction of Brooke Borzymowski. But defender Sabine van den Eijnden deflected the shot and sent the ball out of bounds, keeping the game scoreless.
Syracuse got its second penalty corner after Stanford committed a foul in the striking circle with five and a half minutes left in the second. This time, the Orange capitalized, taking a 1-0 lead when de Vries took a pass from Quirine Comans and pocketed the ball in the back of the net. The goal was de Vries’s 11th of the season, putting her eighth on the Syracuse career goals list with 37.
“(De Vries) had some really good reads on the corner and created opportunities,” head coach Ange Bradley said.
SU continued on attack and received another penalty corner with three minutes to play in the first half. Comans directed a shot from de Vries past the reach of Ford, extending Syracuse’s lead to 2-0.
One minute into the third quarter, SU picked up right where it left off on its fifth penalty corner. With SJ Quigley at insertion, Laura Graziosi passed to de Vries, who dished the ball to van den Nieuwenhof. She fired a rocket straight into the back of the net, giving Syracuse a 3-0 advantage.
Not even a minute later, the Orange got another corner. SU ran the same play as it did on its last penalty corner, and the result was the same with Van den Nieuwenhof scoring off of de Vries’s pass once again. Her second goal gave Syracuse a commanding 4-0 lead just two minutes into the second half.
“Eefke found her rhythm and smashed a couple balls. I can’t wait to see that on video because they were rockets,” Bradley said.
The Orange had two additional penalty corner opportunities, but Stanford’s backup goalie Kendall Dowd made two impressive kick saves. The Cardinal generated some offensive pressure to start the fourth quarter, but Syracuse’s Sienna Pegram battled to steal the ball away.
The Orange tallied seven shots and three penalty corners in the fourth quarter. Syracuse continued to slap good shots on net, though Dowd saved each one. SU’s defense allowed one shot in the quarter but preserved the shutout victory.
The Orange tallied ten penalty corners while the Cardinal only attempted one. In their last two games against Stanford and James Madison, the Orange have attempted a combined 21 penalty corners, the most in any two-game span this season. All four goals on Wednesday came off penalty shots, which are proving to be an essential part of SU’s game plan.
“We really emphasized this week scoring on those corners during practice,” van den Nieuwenhof said. “I think we really stepped it up and were focused from the start.”
