Throughout the first 35 minutes of its contest against New Hampshire at J.S. Coyne Stadium on Sunday, Syracuse couldn’t execute offensively.

 

Every pass found a defender and every shot on goal was turned aside. Despite the best intentions, nothing seemed to go right for the home team.

 

However, the second half provided a complete reversal of fortunes for the Orange.

 

Emma Russell broke free for two goals and Karlee Farr added her fifth tally in the past three games to help the No. 3 Orange (12-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) rally past New Hampshire (7-6, 1-0 America East) 3-1, and complete its second consecutive weekend sweep. Syracuse has now won six straight games overall and 14 in a row against non-conference opponents.

 

Neither of those streaks appeared likely to continue in the early stages of the contest.

 

“They came in here the first half and they wanted it a bit more than we did, and they took it to us,” Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said. “I prepped our kids saying they’re a tough and very feisty team, and you cannot let down. We did, and they took advantage of it.”

 

New Hampshire pulled ahead only 12 minutes into the first frame. Wildcats forward Meg Flatley fired a shot that was rejected by the right pad of Jess Jecko. However, the rebound hopped in front of the net and eventually found the stick of Emma Compagna who banged home the loose ball for her second goal of the season.

 

Bradley crouched over in frustration on the sideline. “Counter, defense! Structure!” She yelled, to wake up the dormant Orange.

 

Meanwhile, the Syracuse offense had a number of opportunities to even the score, including a string of four consecutive penalty corners with almost seven minutes remaining.

 

Nothing.

 

“In the first half, we weren’t moving around them. They were just clogging the center of the pitch and we were just trying to force the attack,” midfielder Emma Russell said. “The second half we came out and played our game.”

 

Russell broke the shutout with 23 minutes remaining in the game. Lindsey Nerbonne sprang the sophomore loose with a beautiful outlet pass up the left side of the field, and she finished with a well-placed strike inside the right goal post.

 

Less than one minute later, a red-hot Farr continued her streak of success with a lucky pass toward the cage.

 

“I think Emma was on the far post, so I was trying to pass and it ended up going toward the goal and it worked out anyway,” Farr said. “I think it’s finally all starting to click, being where I need to be when I need to be.”

 

Her goal completely energized the home crowd. Sensing the complete shift in momentum, a deflated Robin Balducci immediately signaled for a timeout to rally her squad.

 

It didn’t work. The Syracuse defense shut the Wildcats down in transition the rest of the way, and Russell added an insurance goal as she fell to the ground with 4:54 remaining.

 

After the final whistle, Bradley cracked a smile on the bench. She was happy about the win, but even happier with the way her team battled from behind after a grueling 2-1 double-overtime victory at Duke Friday night.

 

She said it was the kind of performance that leads her to believe the Orange could be destined for greatness during the postseason.

 

“We have a lot of character and the makings of a potential championship team,” Bradley said. “It was hard, what we had to do. Being down in the first half, to come back, shows a lot of character.”

Published on October 14, 2013 at 1:33 am

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu