Observations from No. 7 SU’s win over No. 2 Notre Dame: Early defensive struggles, 2nd half success
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse has played top-ten opponents tight in the first half this season. But, against then-No. 1 Northwestern and then-No. 9 Maryland, the Orange faltered. The Wildcats surged to a 3-0 run in the fourth quarter to secure the victory while Maryland capitalized on a foul on CoCo Vandiver in double-overtime giving the Terrapins a player-up advantage, which they converted on for the win.
Against Notre Dame, the Orange trailed 10-6 at halftime and had to work to cut back into the game. SU started the third quarter on a 2-0 run, and Notre Dame responded to bring its lead to 11-8. Then Syracuse’s offense rallied for four straight goals during a 6-1 third quarter, taking a 12-11 lead.
Unlike its losses to Northwestern and Maryland, SU finished the game strong. The Fighting Irish scored two minutes into the fourth quarter to tie the game, but the Orange responded with a 3-0 run, giving them a three-goal advantage and a cushion to rely on, leading to victory.
Here are some observations from No. 7 Syracuse (2-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 16-14 win versus No. 2 Notre Dame (4-1, 0-1 ACC):
Early offense firepower
Notre Dame and Syracuse combined for 11 shots on goal in the first quarter, all of which found the back of the net. The Fighting Irish led 6-5 after 15 minutes, with each offense dominating.
The Orange took an early 4-2 lead after Natalie Smith converted a free position chance at the 8:41 mark. Then Notre Dame answered with a 4-0 run. Madison Ahern got a chance at a free position shot, and fired it past Delaney Sweitzer. Then, Kasey Choma and Ahern added scores, giving the Fighting Irish their first lead of the game at 5-4. Kaci Benoit was called for a yellow card near the SU crease, and Jackie Wolak took advantage, netting a goal to put Notre Dame up 6-4. ND scored on all six of its shots on goal in the quarter.
On the other end, Lilly Callahan did not have an answer for the Orange attack, allowing all five shots on goal to sail into the net. To cut the Notre Dame scoring run, Maddy Baxter finished a scoring position chance, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 6-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Notre Dame’s attack
Wolak, Ahern and Choma powered the Fighting Irish offense to multiple scoring runs in the first half. The trio combined for eight of Notre Dame’s 10 first-half goals, leading it to a 10-6 advantage at halftime.
In the second quarter, Wolak proved her ability to score at different parts of the field, beginning from X to score at the nine-minute mark. Wolak then added another score 30 seconds later.
The trio proved to be an issue for the Orange in the first half, but SU made second-half adjustments to limit their effectiveness. Wolak, Ahern and Choma combined for 10 of Notre Dame’s 14 goals, but Wolak was the only player of the group to score in the second half. Ahern and Choma were scoreless in the second half.
Wolak continued her success late in the game, cutting into the Syracuse defensive zone for two goals in the fourth quarter. Despite a five-goal day by Wolak, the effort was not enough to lead the Fighting Irish to victory.
Natalie Smith’s scoring knack
Smith scored in the first quarter, but then Syracuse went on a scoring drought, getting outscored 4-1 in the second quarter. The Orange cut into Notre Dame’s 10-6 halftime lead behind three third-quarter goals by Smith. At the 11:26 mark of the third quarter, Smith got a free position chance and fired the ball low past Callahan, bringing the SU deficit to 10-8.
Two minutes later, Smith scored again by dipping her elbow for a side-sling score, which cut SU’s deficit to 11-9. The goal kickstarted a 3-0 scoring run for the Orange as Olivia Adamson followed her, bringing the Orange within one.
With three minutes left in the third quarter, Smith dashed down the field to lead a fast break and dodged her defender on the right side of the goal to tie the game at 11-11.
Fourth quarter success
After its dominant third quarter, SU carried a 12-11 lead. Wolak scored two minutes into the fourth quarter for the first goal of the frame. But Syracuse then won four-straight draw controls during its 3-0 scoring run, jumping out to a 15-12 advantage.
With seven minutes left, Benoit was called for a foul in Syracuse’s defensive zone, setting up a free position chance for the Fighting Irish. Wolak fired it past Sweitzer’s stick at the top of the net, ending Notre Dame’s six-minute scoring drought.
Two minutes later, Adamson scored to give SU its three-goal lead back at 16-13. Abby Maichin scored with one minute left, but it was too little too late. Syracuse won the next draw control and ran the clock out to secure the victory.
