Syracuse falls 1-0 in OT to No. 9 Penn State
Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Syracuse suffered a 1-0 overtime defeat to No. 9 Penn State. Kaetlyn Roberts’ game-winning goal handed SU its sixth straight loss.
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When Syracuse skated off the ice at the Pegula Arena in College Park last October, it did so with mixed emotions. While the Orange weren’t expected to beat then-No. 12 Penn State on their home ice, their 3-2 overtime loss felt like one it let slip away late.
Two and a half months later, Syracuse found itself in a nearly identical situation. Friday evening’s contest with No. 9 PSU gave the Orange an opportunity to avenge October’s loss. But, again, SU left the extra point on the board in overtime.
Syracuse (7-18-0, 5-6-0 Atlantic Hockey America) fell to No. 9 Penn State (20-4-1, 11-0-0 AHA) 1-0 in overtime at the Tennity Ice Pavilion Friday night. The Orange put in one of their best defensive performances of the season, but they could only hold off the potent Nittany Lion attack for so long. SU goaltender Allie Kelley made 41 saves en route to rewriting the NCAA record books, but Kaetlyn Roberts’ goal in sudden-death overtime was all it took to send Syracuse home with its sixth straight loss.
“Against good teams, they’re gonna wear you down,” SU head coach Britni Smith said. “We put up a fight.”
Syracuse was outplayed offensively in the first period, but its defensive efforts were a spark of positivity. The Orange were outshot 10-2 in the first 10 minutes, relying on Kelley early. She made a crucial double-save at the 7:26 mark, pushing Grace Outwater’s initial shot to the right of goal and snaring Brianna Brooks’ rebound attempt.
The Orange’s defense kept Kelley fairly unchallenged throughout the latter half of the first, allowing just eight more shots. Still, SU put just four on target as the first period ended 0-0.
Syracuse’s attack then awoke in the second period, earning an early power play. However, as was the case with all six of the Orange’s chances on the evening, no goal came from it.
Rather, SU’s biggest scoring chance came from an open breakaway. It formulated halfway through the period, as Jackson Kinsler was played into the offensive zone with two defenders trailing. She skated into the crease and deked PSU goaltender Katie DeSa but couldn’t get off a clean shot on net. Syracuse began to shift the momentum as the period concluded, outshooting the Nittany Lions 10-7.
“We really limited their chances the second,” Smith said. “We did a great job of keeping them to the outside.
Come the third period, the Orange couldn’t keep up the same efficiency in the attack. Nonetheless, they continued to step up defensively in the final 20 minutes, as Penn State rained down 30 total shots and 14 on goal. Kelley continued to do her part in net and received extra help from her defenders.
SU blocked nine shots in the third period, while Kelley tallied 14 saves. Through three periods, both teams were still scoreless. It was the first time Syracuse had pulled off a three-period shutout since November 16th’s 1-0 win over RIT.
“Seeing those blocks in big moments, making sure that we got the job done,” Smith said. “(It was) a big reason we made it to overtime.”
When overtime rolled around, however, the Orange could only keep up their lights-out defensive performance for so long. Kelley tallied four saves in the first three minutes of overtime, but SU couldn’t get off a shot.
With just under two minutes remaining, Roberts recovered the puck near the faceoff dot, skated toward the left circle and blasted a wrister into Kelley’s top right corner. Syracuse defended flawlessly for nearly 64 minutes, but Roberts’ golden goal nullified it all.
Still, it was a defensive performance to be proud of for the Orange. SU has shown its ability to stay within striking distance against ranked opponents but rarely sustained the effort for regulation’s entirety.
Friday evening proved Syracuse can put in the defensive shift necessary to win against ranked opponents. But the time is ticking for the Orange to replicate the effort offensively and pull off an upset; as current rankings stand, Saturday’s contest with PSU will be SU’s final ranked game this season.
“Penn State puts a lot of pressure on and they’re able to sustain offense,” Smith said. “It wasn’t necessarily pretty for us, but that’s when you find the greediness and that resiliency to just get through it. (It was) a big effort from our D-Core.”
Published on January 17, 2025 at 10:30 pm
