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Penn State earned its second penalty corner of the game six minutes into the third quarter. The Nittany Lions earned four more consecutive penalty corners in the next 50 seconds, looking to level the scoring against Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. PSU heavily pressured the Orange but couldn’t break through SU’s defensive unit. SU’s defenders consistently thwarted Penn State’s advances, scrapping for loose balls and outstretching their sticks to block shots.

On Penn State’s fifth and final penalty corner during this spell of play, SU goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski saved Mackenzie Allessie’s shot to prevent the PSU midfielder from scoring. The ball rebounded and SU’s Willemijn Boogert managed to clear the ball from the shooting circle and launch a Syracuse counterattack.

The ball eventually landed in the path of forward Hailey Bitters, who received the ball on the right edge of Penn State’s shooting circle before dribbling past two defenders on the byline. Bitters moved into an open pocket of space and tipped the ball across the face of goal past Nittany Lions goalie Brie Barraco to extend the Orange’s lead to 2-0. Just two minutes later, Boogert scored from a penalty corner play to make it 3-0.

A scrappy, possession-heavy first half saw limited offensive opportunities from both sides. Syracuse and Penn State combined for only nine shots and three penalty corners across the first two frames. Syracuse was able to control possession among their backline, easily exchanging passes between defenders. But when attempting to advance, the Orange’s forward passes were typically misplaced or intercepted. Penn State’s best attacking chances throughout the first half stemmed from SU’s mistakes.

The deadlock wasn’t broken until three minutes into the second quarter, when Quirine Comans lured two marking PSU defenders to her at the edge of the shooting circle. The graduate student slipped the ball to fellow forward Claire Cooke, who was consequently left open in the center of the circle. With time to set up a shot for herself, Cooke took a touch before rolling the ball past Barraco into the bottom right corner of the goal.

The Orange mustered three more shots before ending the first half with a 1-0 lead. Penn State came into the second half poised to level the scoring with five straight penalty corners in the third quarter, but it failed to convert. The momentum reversed after Bitters doubled Syracuse’s lead, and SU pushed on to score again just two minutes later on a penalty corner play. SJ Quigley inserted the ball to Carolin Hoffmann, who sent her signature low-driving dragged shot towards goal. But before the ball reached Barraco, Boogert put out her stick on the ground and redirected Hoffmann’s initial shot around the Penn State goalkeeper. The ball grazed the back netting, extending SU’s lead to a three-goal margin.

Sophia Gladieux put Penn State on the board less than 90 seconds into the fourth quarter after dribbling into the shooting circle and firing a powerful grounded shot that slid past Borzymowski. Two minutes later, Eefke van den Nieuwenhof restored the Orange’s three-goal lead with a direct penalty corner shot and now leads SU with ten goals this season. Van den Nieuwenhof received the insertion from Quigley before firing a shot into the top right corner of the goal to cement Syracuse’s spot in the second round.

Syracuse evaporated an imposing start to the second half from Penn State to defeat the Nittany Lions in College Park, Maryland, and earn a spot in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Three of SU’s four goals came in the second half, overcoming a slow start in the first half. The Orange ultimately outshot the Nittany Lions 15 to 11 and scored on two of their seven penalty corners. Syracuse advances to the second round on Sunday and will play the winner of the Maryland-Virginia first round matchup from Friday afternoon.

Published on November 12, 2021 at 3:24 pm

Contact Bryan: brbrush@syr.edu