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Lysianne Proulx laid on the field with her head down. Beside the graduate student goalkeeper, a group of Niagara University players swarmed forward Florence Vaillancourt after her shot hit into the right corner of the goal. It had only been 22 minutes into the start of Thursday’s game, and it was already tied 1-1. 

In a 4-2 loss to Niagara (1-1), Syracuse (1-1) gave up an early lead and never came back. The Orange let up on defensive transition and allowed the Purple Eagles to advance the ball. Proulx mustered only one save, even though Niagara recorded only five shots on goal. She averaged nearly nine saves per game last season, a mark that was the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

“Niagara did a really good job stretching us. We didn’t adjust properly into those spaces,” Syracuse head coach Nicky Adams said. “They caught us in transition moments and just had it where it hurt.”

While Proulx had a shutout on Sunday against Fairleigh Dickinson — when she saved eight shots — the graduate student let up a goal to Djeynaba Thiam, a substitute, and a hat trick to Vaillancourt. The three goals Vaillancourt scored on Thursday brought her season total up to four.

Syracuse faces a “learning curve” among freshmen and transfers joining a new, rebuilding team, Adams said. While Syracuse has shown it can generate offense, three new players that worked besides Proulx and Jenna Tivnan lacked communication and chemistry on Thursday. 

Against Niagara, Syracuse advanced the ball on offensive possessions and sent eight shots toward the Purple Eagles’ goal. Throughout the game, though, the Orange’s two center backs, Tivnan and freshman Emma Klein, had to streamline back toward their own box to help out their goalie. The shift put Proulx on the wrong side of a Niagara offensive front and allowed Vaillancourt to receive three assists from teammates without the worry of a thicket of Syracuse defenders and midfielders being in her path.

“I think (Vaillancourt) put herself in some dangerous positions when we were transitioning and caught us,” Adams said. “She definitely did what her job is: To put it in the back of the net.”

Proulx has been a bright spot for Syracuse throughout her career, despite the lack of defensive help against Niagara. Ever since she’s been at Syracuse, Proulx has been on a team with a losing record. Still, she’s notched 192 saves, sixth on the Syracuse women’s soccer all-time list, and led the ACC in both saves and saves per game in 2019. 

But four minutes after Niagara tied the game, Vaillancourt was fed the ball again, this time by Emma Bough. Her shot landed in the left corner. With Niagara leading 2-1, Proulx pointed out to her new teammates and directed them. For the rest of the half, the score stayed the same. 

Thirteen minutes into the second half, when the Niagara forward completed her hat trick, Proulx stayed on the ground just a little bit longer than before. 

Assistant coach Brandon DeNoyer called out that there was still a chance to win, that Syracuse had plenty of time. And four minutes later, Niagara’s Emma Davies passed the ball to a beelining Thiam on the right side of the field, who then iced the game. Proulx landed on her knees and swung her first through the air once.

Proulx got up again and stared ahead. But for the rest of the game, with 28 minutes left, DeNoyer kept quiet about coming back. By then, winning was out of reach.

Published on August 26, 2021 at 10:25 pm

Contact Christopher: cscargla@syr.edu | @chrisscargs