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With the game tied at 2-2, Syracuse’s backline faced pressure in the 84th minute against then-No. 3 Florida State. FSU’s Taylor Huff pushed the ball down the right side of the attacking third, and after being pressed by four SU defenders, she passed backward to Maggie Taitano.

After resetting their offense, the Seminoles created another chance. Lauren Flynn dribbled past Syracuse’s Hannah Pilley and delivered a pass ahead to Onyi Echegini along the left side of the 18-yard box. Echegini found space and fired a shot toward the far post. SU goalie Shea Vanderbosch could only stand flat-footed as it flew past her and into the back of the net.

Syracuse’s (2-8-1, 0-3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) defense has faltered when it has mattered most at countless times through its opening 11 games. Thus far, SU’s conceded 21 goals and has a -10 goal differential. Last season, Syracuse had a +7 goal difference through 11 contests. Among 336 Division I teams, the Orange rank 279th in goals-against average (1.909) despite head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams making multiple changes to the team’s formations.

SU’s defensive issues have been apparent all year long. In the 13th minute of its Sept. 7 matchup with Harvard, Crimson midfielder Gabby DelPico launched a through ball to Smith Hunter. She sent a cross to Ava Lung at the top of the 18, which sailed over Syracuse’s Kylen Grant. Lung fired a shot and buried it, giving Harvard a 1-0 lead.

The Orange have also struggled stopping teams in transition too. Against Binghamton on Aug. 27, midfielder Ashley Rauch lost control of the ball at midfield. On the other end, the Bearcats finished a counter-attack that Syracuse’s backline slowly reacted to. Paige Luke scored without pressure to tie the game.

“We were super panicky in transition,” Adams said.

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Adams adjusted against UMass by changing the formation to a 3-5-2. Still, the Orange fell 2-0 after allowing two goals within the opening 13 minutes.

After Syracuse went down 1-0 in the 13th minute, UMass forward Nia Hislop won a 50-50 ball over Kate Murphy on the right flank. While the two battled, Vanderbosch moved out of the box to stop Hislop, leaving an empty net.

Hislop then sent the ball past Vanderbosch to forward Ashley Lamond, who tapped it in to extend the Minutewomen’s lead to 2-0.

“We honestly changed our tactics, changed the way that we pressed by recognizing some of the things that they (Syracuse) were doing,” UMass head coach Jason Dowiak said. “We didn’t want to give (Syracuse) an option to get out. We got those two early goals, made a few adjustments, and I think they struggled to deal with it.”

Adams altered SU’s formation again during its 4-0 loss to Virginia Tech. She switched to a 4-4-2 to relieve pressure in the backline after defender Zoe Van de Cloot was ruled out.

The changes didn’t work as the Hokies peppered Vanderbosch with 21 shots, leading to four goals in the first 48 minutes. Vanderbosch registered eight saves, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the play of the backline.

“We haven’t started exactly how we wanted to,” Rauch said. “It’s not just on our defense, it’s a team thing. We’re practicing and coming up with different tactics and strategies. So we’re running for the ACC and (getting) back to having the season that we wanted to have.”

Published on September 26, 2023 at 10:47 pm