The freshmen on No. 2 Syracuse (16-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) have said all season that they came to SU to compete for national championships. So when the Orange received the second seed during the NCAA tournament selection show Sunday night, they were ready to let loose and celebrate.

“We were definitely on pins and needles,” back Lindsey Nerbonne said. “We were all on the edge of our seats. Once we saw our names up there, everyone was just ecstatic and jumping around and stuff.”

But mere hours later, it was back to business.

For the Orange, official work begins at J.S. Coyne Stadium on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against Michigan State (13-9, 4-2 Big Ten), which defeated Miami (Ohio) 3-0 on Wednesday to earn a spot in the 16-team bracket. SU has already faced the Spartans once this season, posting a 4-0 victory back on Sept. 6.

At that point, Karlee Farr, Serra Degnan, Tayler Evans and Nerbonne were still rookies trying to assert their roles on the team. Now that they’ve done so, they’re ready to mount a postseason charge.

“It’s awesome that it’s finally here,” Farr said of the tournament. “We can finally put everything we’ve worked for into winning the national championship.

“It’s what we’ve been going for all season.”

But it’s only become apparent that all four are key to Syracuse’s success during the latter portion of the schedule.

Farr and Degnan have scored a combined 12 goals this season, and all but one of those came after ACC play began. In that same time frame, Nerbonne has made six starts and become a key substitute for the Orange down the stretch. Evans has started every game this season, but her defense improved tremendously during the second half of the season.

Degnan said clearing the mental hurdles has been more crucial than any mechanical or tactical adjustment.

“It’s about going in with confidence, not underestimating yourself, and believing in yourself more than anyone else would,” Degnan said. “Knowing that you go out there and practice every day so that in the game you can definitely do it.”

It also takes a head coach who’s willing to trust them in key situations.

SU head coach Ange Bradley said that playing some of the best teams in the country is often the best form of learning for young players. After seeing how her underclassmen performed against Michigan State, Duke and most recently North Carolina, she said it’s not even fair to call them freshmen anymore.

“If they were going to be in over their head, it would have happened,” Bradley said. “These kids have been seasoned, and as I said, I hope they’re thinking of themselves as sophomores at this point.”

While that won’t officially happen until after the tournament concludes, there’s a fair amount of validity to her mindset.

In many ways, the Orange’s performance in the tournament will depend on the freshmen and how they handle pressure. However, their play during the regular season suggests they have what it takes to help carry the team to a title.

Then the celebration can last a little longer than it did earlier this week.

“This has been my dream forever,” Nerbonne said. “I know we’re all just so excited, especially as freshmen coming in, being part of such a successful program.”

Published on November 14, 2013 at 1:30 am

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu