Jackie Firenze earned Syracuse its first Atlantic Coast Conference point while sitting down.

After sophomore forward Erin Simon grounded a cross in from the left side, Firenze, who broke free from her defender, attempted to shoot on a slide.

But the ball deflected off her shin pad and ricocheted a few feet above the ground. Rather than standing back up, Firenze alertly rolled to her right while sitting up and fired a shot from her backside.

The ball skipped past the right side of Duke goalie Ali Kershner and pulled the Orange even in a game that once looked like an inevitable loss.

“I did a little hesitation move and crossed the ball when I saw Jackie out of the corner of my eye,” Simon said. “She didn’t give up on the ball and slide tackled it in the net. It was a sick goal.”

A strong second-half turnaround fueled SU (4-5-1, 0-3-1 ACC) as it came from behind to tie No. 18 Duke (4-4-2, 1-2-1) 2-2 in front of 437 fans at SU Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Trailing 2-0 at halftime without its best defender, the Orange tightened its defensive pressure, leading to more efficient ball movement and longer possessions.

Despite the tie, head coach Phil Wheddon said he is encouraged that his team made the necessary adjustments and secured a moral victory against Duke.

“I’m so proud of this group,” Wheddon said. “I thought the effort today was fantastic. They worked hard the entire game.”

Early on, though, the Orange looked overmatched. Duke used its athleticism to capitalize on an early scoring chance less than three minutes into the game.

Laura Weinberg gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead when she followed a shot by Toni Payne and tapped the ball past SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel.

The Orange struggled to maintain possession as it continued to play back on its heels. When Anghel mistakenly came out of the goal in the 39th minute, Kim DeCesare lofted a chip shot over her head and into the back of the net.

Then senior defender Kayla Alfonso, who Anghel described as the heart and soul of the team, went down with a leg injury right before halftime. It was an unfortunate blow for SU, but Anghel said the players kept their composure and used that poise to make a bold statement in the second half.

“I knew that we could come back,” Anghel said. “Our team always has this belief in each other, and we weren’t fazed being down 2-0. We really stepped it up in the second half.”

The Orange came out with a renewed sense of energy, responding with a breakthrough goal scored by Stephanie Skilton in the 53rd minute.

From there, SU found its rhythm and the momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Orange. Unlike in the first half, SU played the role of aggressor and matched Duke’s intensity. The Orange exhausted the Blue Devils with airtight pressure on defense, giving the outside and center backs less time to serve the ball-up field.

SU’s scrappy defense paved the way for Firenze’s game-tying score. Simon applied swift pressure on the ball and poked it away from a Duke player before dribbling down the field and setting up Firenze.

“We’re always out to prove something,” Firenze said. “We’ve had some tough results in the past few games, and we want to win. We’re going to fight until the end.”

Published on September 23, 2013 at 12:05 am