Albany’s frustration showed in its play and in the demeanor of its players.

By the 18th minute, Syracuse had already scored two goals on long shots and was controlling the ball. The Great Danes had attempted just one shot — a volley that skied high over the net.

Albany’s Morgan Loder had enough. She slid at a Syracuse player’s legs, tugged on her jersey and argued when the retaliation resulted in a stoppage of play.

She was given a warning, but a minute later she committed another foul. This time she received a yellow card and was substituted out of the game.

The game never got much better for the Great Danes (1-3-0). Syracuse (3-0-1) dominated in a 2-0 win for its third consecutive victory. The Orange is off to its best start since 2003 and is one of eight teams still undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I’m not one for records, but we really have a great group of players,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “I attribute this strong start to their great chemistry and that they work very hard for each other.”

Syracuse scored first for the third game in a row. In the third minute, defender Maddie Iozzi dribbled quickly toward the left corner outside of the box. With a defender trailing behind, Iozzi rocketed one from more than 18 yards away. It curved over Albany goalie Chloe Borasky.

“At first I was going to cross it, but at the last minute I changed my mind,” Iozzi said. “I saw the goalie shift over to the near post so the back post was open. So I went for it.”

The Orange kept the pressure on as it fired two shots and three corner kicks between the sixth and 11th minutes. In previous games, SU had played more conservatively after jumping out to an early lead.

It was not until the 17th minute, however, that Syracuse finally capitalized with the help of defender Taylor Bennett.

Despite being more than 35 yards out, Bennett decided to try her luck at a shot on net. She let loose a powerful shot over the wall which fired over Borasky’s outstretched hands.

“We actually expect to shoot that ball,” Bennett said. “We work on it in practice a lot. In the locker room we talked about how we just need to get our shots on frame from far out. I just had to execute.”

Syracuse controlled possession by playing a build-up passing style offense throughout the game, using short passes to advance down the field.

In the 64th minute, Wheddon shouted, “Speed of play girls, don’t slow down.”

“I wanted our players to play quicker because it’s an all-out overall exercise for ninety minutes,” Wheddon explained. “We’ve got to be able to sustain it for 90 minutes especially against the ACC teams. They’re not going to lay off.”

Syracuse goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan was never legitimately tested by the Great Danes’ offense until the 70th minute.

Albany’s Meghan Cavanaugh launched a free kick from just outside the box toward the left post; however, Brosnan dove across the net and knocked the ball out of bounds. She finished the game with three saves for her third straight shutout.

“I knew that was a big moment for us,” Brosnan said. “They had a few minutes when they were on our throats and I knew I had to come up with a big save. So I got organized and did what I can to help the team.”

Syracuse outshot Albany 11-7 on the day. Its six corner kicks dwarfed Albany’s one. And the Orange cruised to the shutout win.

“Every game we play now on is a massive one for us,” Wheddon said. “We’ve got to sustain a full-on attack for 90 minutes.”

Published on August 28, 2016 at 6:14 pm

Contact Byron: brtollef@syr.edu