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Louisville’s attack forced a penalty corner down by one with 33 seconds remaining in the game. Aimee Plumb, who had already cracked a shot toward the net, looking up to tie the game for the third time. But as Syracuse goalie Brooke Borzymowski dove to make a stop, freshman back Jannemijn Deutman got a stick on Plumb’s shot, redirecting the ball out of bounds and giving the Orange possession. 

“We haven’t really been in that situation this year and they handled it beautifully. I’m really proud of them,” head coach Ange Bradley said.

In No. 12 Syracuse’s (13-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) 3-2 win over No 4. Louisville (12-4, 1-4 ACC), its defense dominated throughout the first half and hung on in the final moments to secure the victory, improving the Orange’s home record to 8-0, their best mark since 2015 when they won the national championship. The defense limited Louisville to nine shots, so Borzymowski had only had to make three saves. The Orange backline also made stops that translated into the game-winning goal from Quirine Comans with four minutes left in the game.

The Syracuse defense kept Louisville off of the scoreboard through the first 15 minutes of play. Early in the quarter, the Cardinals began to gain momentum on offense. But Comans thwarted Louisville’s efforts by alertly intercepting a pass at midfield to end the threat. SJ Quigley also forced two turnovers in the first quarter, adding outlet passes to get the offense going.  

With thirty seconds remaining in the first, Louisville pressured SU in its defensive zone, looking to break the scoreless tie. Kelsey McCrudden sent a pass down toward Mattie Tabor. Tabor attempted a small pass to Plumb, but Eefke van den Nieuwenhof charged at the ball, forcing a pass out of bounds at the buzzer. 

Louisville continued the pressure into the second quarter as it got its first penalty corner with 13 minutes remaining. Julie Jouijzer launched a hard shot on goal, only for Borzymowski to make a diving save. The sophomore goalkeeper dove to her right, deflecting the shot out of bounds. The Cardinals came up empty on their first chance of the game as SU took possession.

Louisville forced its second penalty corner with five and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Orange defense held their ground again, forcing Plumb to crack a shot just wide of the net. 

Van den Nieuwenhof intercepted another pass with two minutes left in the quarter, and the offense controlled possession for the final moments. Through one half, Syracuse’s defense kept the fourth-ranked team in the nation scoreless.

The Cardinals continued to apply pressure on offense, but the Orange defense remained spotless. SU received its second penalty corner of the evening thanks to a steal and runout by Lieke Leeggangers. Willemijn Boogert joined the action with a steal of her own, awarding Syracuse possession.

Louisville received its third and fourth penalty corners with seven and a half minutes remaining in the third. Izzy Bianco lined a shot on goal that Borzymowski saved. Seconds later, the Syracuse goalkeeper saved another shot, this time by Julie Kouijzer. The game remained scoreless.

Syracuse’s defensive unit faced a new challenge when Sabine van den Eijnden was given a green card with six minutes left in the third. Down a player, the Orange managed to keep the Cardinals at bay, highlighted by a steal and runout by Joy Haarman. This defensive success continued as Comans put a shot past Louisville goalkeeper Sasha Elliott with three minutes to play in the quarter to give the Orange an early lead. 

But the SU defense failed to hold its one-goal lead, surrendering a goal almost instantly. Less than two minutes after Syracuse broke the scoreless tie, Louisville’s Katie Schneider knotted up the score once again, this time at 1-1. As time ran out in the third quarter, the Orange defense had to regroup and keep the Cardinals from taking the lead.

Louisville’s attack was too much for Syracuse to handle as the fourth quarter began. After misfiring on its fifth penalty corner, the Cardinals were awarded a penalty stroke. Plumb won the battle with Borzymowski this time, sending a shot past the diving goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give Louisville the lead. 

Syracuse’s offense made up for the rare defensive lapse, evening the game 2-2 on a goal by Boogert. With the momentum on SU’s side, the defensive pressure looked similar to the first half’s. Leeggangers and van den Nieuwenhof each stole passes away from Louisville, leading to offensive opportunities.

With five minutes remaining, the Orange were down another player, Laura Graziosi, due to a green card. A quick steal by Syracuse in its defensive end led to instant offense. Charlotte De Vries carried the ball downfield and fired a shot. Comans got the rebound and scored again, giving SU a 3-2 lead with four minutes left in the game. 

“We just turned the ball over and we have a tremendous amount of speed,” Bradley said.

After Comans gave SU the lead, its defense kept the Cardinals scoreless, including the final stop from Deutman to give the Orange their first win over a top five opponent since the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve been focusing on bouncing back and being able to reset after we get scored on. This night showed it all,” Comans said.

Published on October 21, 2022 at 10:17 pm