Syracuse (5-12-2, 4-4-1 CHA) fell to Robert Morris (12-3-3, 6-1-2) 5-2, on Friday in the Orange’s first game since Dec. 9. This is Syracuse’s fifth consecutive loss and fourth straight in league play. After the loss, the Orange remains with nine points on the season, and now stands five points behind RMU, the conference leader.

The two squads played to a stalemate in the first 20 minutes, as neither team found the back of the net.

Syracuse limped to a 2-0 early deficit in the second period, as the Colonials began to capitalize on their massive advantage in shots. Midway through the period, the Orange got on the scoreboard thanks to senior forward Alysha Burriss’ second goal of the year. However, RMU junior Amber Rennie’s goal with just under three minutes remaining pushed her team’s lead back to two.

Five minutes into the third period, a goal scored by Colonials senior defender Natalie Fraser stretched the RMU lead to three, but Syracuse wasn’t done yet. Burriss tallied her second goal of the game only forty seconds later off a Kelli Rowswell assist, Rowswell’s team-leading 12th point of the season. After twelve minutes in which neither team got anything going offensively, Brittany Howard closed out any chance for a Syracuse comeback with her CHA-leading 18th goal of the season.

The struggles on Friday for the Orange were a result of its lack of success on shot opportunities. While SU only attempted nine fewer shots on goal than Robert Morris, the Colonials tallied three more goals than the Orange. Thanks to 17 of its attempts blocked by RMU defenders, Syracuse’s shots struggled to even reach the net.