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Boston College’s attack forced a penalty corner with four minutes left in the first quarter. Sarah Johnson launched a shot on goal, attempting to set the tone. Syracuse goalkeeper Brooke Borzymowski dove and swatted the ball away, making an impressive save to keep the game scoreless.

“I think (Brooke) has quiet confidence in there and is doing her role and doing it well,” head coach Ange Bradley said.

In No. 13 Syracuse’s (9-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) 3-0 win over No. 16 Boston College (5-5, 2-1 ACC), the Orange’s defense dominated throughout the game, allowing just two shots and one penalty corner. Syracuse kept Boston College off-balance all afternoon and prevented the Eagles from getting in any rhythm. SU shut out its opponent for the second consecutive game and notched its seventh shutout victory of the season.

Syracuse’s defense kept BC scoreless through the first quarter, working on making quick passes to keep the Eagles away from the ball. The Eagles threatened in the game’s first minute, but Joy Haarman forced an errant BC pass, giving SU possession. 

With four minutes remaining in the quarter, Boston College received the game’s first penalty corner. Johnson shot on goal, and Borzymowski made an incredible, diving save. The stop got SU going in transition and gave the offense three chances to score at the end of the quarter.

“BC’s a tough opponent and they’re feisty and aggressive,” Bradley said. “We needed to be able to maintain that composure and play good pressure defense.”

SU’s defense continued to intercept passes from the BC offense well throughout the second quarter, allowing just two shots in the first half. The Eagles worked into the offensive zone with ten minutes to play in the quarter, but Suus Heijnekamp quickly poked the ball out of bounds. 

A few minutes later, Boston College blasted an attempted shot that rang off the left post. Borzymowski stood tall on a breakaway opportunity by the Eagles with a minute left in the second quarter, keeping the game scoreless through the first half. 

The Orange defense dominated the Eagles in the third quarter, giving way to more offensive opportunities. Syracuse’s defense was smothering and allowed its offense to control the time of possession. The Eagles could not establish a rhythm with SU’s pressure and made multiple careless passes to turn the ball over. 

With two minutes left in the third, Quirine Comans stole the ball from a BC attacker and made a great outlet pass to get the offensive going. The defense kept the No. 16 team in the nation scoreless through three quarters.

A goal by Charlotte de Vries put Syracuse in front early in the fourth quarter. All eyes were on the SU defense to preserve the shutout.

“We were super composed,” de Vries said. “We didn’t jump too fast at the balls. Our outletting was phenomenal. We didn’t force, we just played around, played it simple, and I think it really made a difference for the offense, especially working off of their composed outlet structure.” 

Borzymowski kicked an attacker’s pass to the sidelines, preventing any further threat. SU’s defensive unit did not let up after its offensive unit scored two more goals, keeping the Eagles off the board to preserve the shutout win.

In the second half, the Orange’s defense kept the Eagles without a single shot. Quick outlet passes got their offensive moving, dominating time of possession in the process.

The only shot on goal from BC was the penalty corner save by Borzymowski. Over its last two games, the Syracuse defense has limited opponents to just three shots. On the flip side, Boston College was shut out for just the second time this season.

“I think it’s our structure defensively,” Bradley said. “To limit a team to (two) shots, that’s pretty good. I think that says a lot about our defensive structures.”

Published on September 30, 2022 at 7:15 pm