As Marisa Romeo’s bad-angle shot with 2:03 remaining bounced directly to the stick of Syracuse’s Kaeli O’Connor, Harvard assistant coach Patricia Sutton violently shrugged her shoulders in disgust.

It provided a release valve for nearly 58 minutes of built-up frustration, most of which stemmed from her team’s inability to maintain possession and generate legitimate scoring chances.

No. 3 Syracuse (8-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) hounded the Crimson (3-3, 1-1 Ivy League) from the get-go and forced 19 turnovers en route to an easy 17-4 victory at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night. The Orange cut off almost every passing lane in front of the cage during the first half, allowing only three shots during the frame. That suffocating coverage continued after the break and sparked the team’s best defensive outing since shutting out Stetson on Jan. 24.

“Really, our ride was much better today,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “I thought the effort level on the attack was better and I think that was the key to defense.”

SU senior defender Liz Harbeson set the tone on Harvard’s first possession by scooping up an unforced bobble, and the mistakes only piled up from there.

After Alyssa Murray gave SU a quick 1-0 lead at the 27:22 mark of the first half, the quick sticks of the Orange struck again at midfield. Sophomore Erica Bodt delivered a well-placed jab to knock the ball out of Romeo’s — Harvard’s leading scorer — control. She picked up the ground ball before setting Kayla Treanor and Kelly Cross loose in transition. Cross buried her fourth goal of the season to help Syracuse grab momentum in the opening minutes.

Once the Orange’s lead ballooned to 6-1, senior attack Katie Webster made a similar play and ripped the ball away from Harvard’s Meghan Bauer. The ensuing fast break drew a free-position opportunity, which Gabby Jaquith cashed in for a goal.

Murray said these these early conversions gave the SU sideline an extra jolt and forced the Crimson to be reactors rather than initiators.

“It’s definitely a big energy play to get a good caused turnover and go down the field and score,” Murray said. “It makes the team really energetic and just gets the ball rolling, and it really gets the defense on its heels.”

The Orange’s final goal in the first half stemmed from yet another failed clear attempt. This time, Cross intercepted a pass in midair and found a streaking Treanor to help the Orange hit double digits.

Harvard also hit double digits by the break, but in the giveaway category. Fifteen to be exact.

“The number of caused turnovers was exceptional,” Gait said.

The Orange was also able to limit its foul total. After struggling to keep up with Florida’s explosive offense during the second half Saturday, the defense remained very patient against the Crimson attacks and committed only four violations in the final 30 minutes.

In total, SU had only 11 fouls and didn’t allow a single free-position opportunity in the contest.

“Yeah, that’s always our goal,” Harbeson said in regard to limiting fouls and penalties. “I think we did a good job today.”

The Orange has now allowed only 16 goals in its last two games. Although that number clearly wasn’t to Sutton’s liking, it has given Gait and his squad a huge confidence boost prior to Sunday’s ranked showdown against No. 8 Northwestern.

“We’re just playing together and building off each game,” Harbeson said. “Today, I guess we clicked. There’s definitely room for improvement, but we were just playing together out there.”

Published on March 18, 2014 at 11:36 pm

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu