No. 13 Syracuse stalls offensively in 4-1 loss to No. 3 North Carolina

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Eighteen seconds into the second quarter, Syracuse earned its first penalty corner. Willemijn Boogert passed the ball to Eefke van den Nieuwenhof who fired a shot, but Romea Riccardo blocked it. Six seconds later, the Orange collected another penalty corner. Boogert delivered the ball to Pieke van de Pas. Van de Pas received the pass and struck the ball on goal, but Maddie Kahn got in front of the shot. Charlotte de Vries corralled the rebound and shot but again, Kahn made another save. The Orange fired off three shots in 16 seconds, but were blanked on each one.

No. 13 Syracuse’s (9-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell flat in a 4-1 loss to No. 3 North Carolina. The three shots were the only shots Syracuse recorded in the second quarter. While the Orange couldn’t capitalize, UNC scored twice on its only two shots, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. The Orange outshot the Tar Heels 8-6 in the game but North Carolina was more accurate, leading in shots on goal 5-4.

Hattie Madden recorded the first shot of the game for Syracuse at the 8:06 mark of the first quarter. Ciana Riccardo suffered a head injury after taking a ball to the face two minutes earlier, but the UNC defense was prepared. Madden’s attempt was blocked before it reached the net.

After 15 minutes, the score was 0-0, each team totaling 1 shot, but the Tar Heels shot came on goal at the four minute mark.

Syracuse’s offense gained momentum in the opening minute of the second quarter, but after its three shots, it was still scoreless. For the rest of the period, Syracuse did not tally another shot.

During Syracuse’s offensive struggles, North Carolina scored twice. Nearly three minutes into the quarter, Charly Bruder rocketed a ball past Brooke Borzymowski off a penalty corner.

In the seventh minute, Madden weaved her way through two UNC defenders along the right sideline, before sending a cross in. The pass was intercepted by North Carolina who pushed the ball out of the scoring circle.

At the 24 minute mark Sanne Hak made the score 2-0 on a penalty stroke, giving the Tar Heels a multi-goal lead heading into halftime. Each team created two penalty corners in the first half, but North Carolina converted one of its opportunities while Syracuse couldn’t break through.

Nearly three minutes into the third quarter, van de Pas – SU’s second leading scorer — received a green card. Without van de Pas for two minutes, the offense failed to build any momentum.

Ten minutes into the third quarter, Ryleigh Heck found the back of the net, expanding the Tar Heels lead to 3-0.

A minute after the goal by Heck, Syracuse earned its third penalty corner. Boogert passed to van den Nieuwenhof at the top of the scoring circle, but van den Niuwenhof’s fired wide left. The shot by Nieuwenhof was SU’s lone shot of the quarter.

The Syracuse offense looked to get out in transition but North Carolina thwarted any opportunities. Once gaining possession in the middle of the field, SU looked to push the ball upward, but a UNC defender anticipated SU’s attacks on many occasions.

“(North Carolina) dropped straight back, (causing) spacing to be different,” Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar said. “Our first pass was solid, the space started to become open, and we weren’t quick enough to move the line of the ball and fill that second phase pass.”

With 15 minutes remaining North Carolina led 3-0. SU and UNC each tallied five shots through three quarters, but the Tar Heels’ had four on target while SU registered two.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Katie Dixon converted a cross from Heck to put North Carolina up 4-0.

At the thirteen minute mark, De Vries dribbled into the UNC scoring circle, but Kahn anticipated de Vries’ attack, leaving the net to kick the ball out of de Vries’ control.

With just over a minute remaining, Syracuse forced its fourth penalty corner. Boogert found de Vries at the top of the circle, but Riccardo stepped out to block the shot. SU earned another penalty corner, van den Nieuwenhof receiving a pass from de Vries, but Kahn collected her third save.

Syracuse was granted a penalty stroke with under a minute to play after a video review. Van den Niewenhof took the shot for the Orange, firing past the left side of Kahn, giving Syracuse its first and lone goal of the game.

Syracuse led in penalty corners 5-3 but couldn’t convert on any, failing to score until the 60th minute. Farquhar said Syacuse could get to the first phase of the offense in the midfield, but once in the second phase, it struggled to find holes in the North Carolina defense.

“I give UNC a lot of credit,” Farquhar said. “There’s some onus on us. It’s a matter of whether we are prepared for the second phase. Our first phase is great, however that doesn’t do everything.”