Syracuse’s O’Neill returns to high school position, scores 2 goals in Syracuse win against Boston College

Freshman Alana O’Neill subbed into a scoreless game in the 65th minute at forward.

It was the first time O’Neill had played the position since high school, but she said Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon told the defender, “I know you used to be a forward, so I’m putting you at forward.”

O’Neill then scored her first two collegiate goals in the Orange’s 3-0 win over Boston College (8-5, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) on Saturday night in front of 774 at SU Soccer Stadium. Her second-half performance powered SU (5-5-3, 2-2) after it was outshot by BC, 9-2, in the first half. Stephanie Skilton scored Syracuse’s third goal in the final minute to put the icing on the cake.

“I thought, ‘Why not give her a chance up front?’” Wheddon said of O’Neill. “I’d like to say it was a great coaching move, but it’s up to her. She found space for herself and she did very well.”

Wheddon jokingly complimented his own move, but it worked.

Within five minutes of being subbed in, O’Neill missed two opportunities to score inside Boston College’s 18-yard box. Both times she was one-on-one against the goalie with a BC defender behind her. Both times, the defender took O’Neill down, but no foul was called.

In the 73rd minute, O’Neill received a pass from Maya Pitts outside the box. She took a touch and shot a laser from 25 yards out into the top left corner of the goal.

“I realized that I have to shoot a lot earlier, which is why I took the shot from really far out,” O’Neill said. “Well it’s far out for me, because they kept closing in if I dribbled more.”

O’Neill’s second goal came off a corner kick by midfielder Jackie Firenze. O’Neill got caught up in the cluster right in front of goal, but still headed the ball into the net.

Syracuse didn’t record a shot on frame until its first goal, but took four shots in the final 20 minutes. While not shooting, the Orange still managed to keep the game tied.

Though Wheddon said the result against BC is a massive win, he added that SU’s passing in the first half was “atrocious.” In the second half, his team began connecting on its passing, which led to a flurry of opportunities and resulted in three goals.

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Orange lost three of its last four games largely because of an inability to put away its chances. Saturday, this wasn’t an issue thanks to O’Neill’s contributions.

“If we didn’t have her, we obviously wouldn’t have had the first goal,” Firenze said, “and I’m not sure if the other two would have come, so I’m really proud of her.”