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Wagner’s Emma Lofstedt sent in a smooth inbounds pass to Rebecca Desiderio on the team’s first penalty corner 5:38 into the first quarter. Desiderio belted a shot off Syracuse goalie Brooke Borzymowski and into the net, giving Wagner an early 1-0 lead.

However, Desiderio’s goal marked the Seahawks’ (0-5, 0-0 Northeast) only shot attempt through three quarters of play. After falling behind quickly, No. 6 Syracuse (6-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) recorded 28 shots and 16 on goal in a comfortable 5-1 victory.

After Wagner’s score, Syracuse struggled to create shooting opportunities for the next few minutes. Then a yellow card against the Seahawks allowed the Orange to find its flow offensively. Nearing the end of the opening quarter, Vivian Rowan nearly converted on a through ball, but goalkeeper Sam Black stuck out her leg for her second save of the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Orange asserted themselves by holding possession in Wagner territory for almost 15 minutes. At the 17:54 mark, Black pulled off double saves, blocking shots by both Charlotte de Vries and Pieke van de Pas.

Three minutes into the second period, Eefke van den Nieuwenhof attempted the fourth Syracuse shot within 90 seconds. She netted by driving a low shot into the bottom left corner.

Van den Nieuwenhof’s equalizer helped Syracuse halt a game-and-a-half scoring drought, but de Vries said she was never bothered about SU’s brief offensive struggles.

“That’s all you can do on offense, get balls on goal and have people in for rebounds,” de Vries said.

Throughout the remainder of the second quarter the Orange continued to pepper shots toward goal. First, van de Pas forced Black to make a save. Forward Amber Coebergh fired but Black parried the effort to the right center of the circle. De Vries corralled the loose ball and patiently reset the offense. She drove down the right baseline, sneaking past several defenders and blasted a cross-body shot to give Syracuse a 2-1 advantage.

In the 27th minute, de Vries capitalized on another rebound to slot home her second goal of the period. Her score was SU’s 11th shot of the quarter, the most in a quarter this season for the Orange.

Behind a weak Wagner back line, Black notched eight saves in the first half. Syracuse’s defense, on the other hand, did not allow a shot in the second quarter.

Freshman Cato Schreinemacher catalyzed the first push of the third quarter eight minutes in when she found a soft spot in Wagner’s defensive coverage. Schreinemaker beat two defenders to find a wide-open de Vries, who then clinched her hat trick with a scoop shot.

Up 4-1, Syracuse kept its foot on the gas, racking up three more shots until its next penalty corner. At the 41:40 mark, van den Nieuwenhof passed to Hattie Madden, who performed a one-timer to score from the right flank.

With just under 14 minutes left, Wagner tallied its second shot. Sara Nelson earned a penalty corner for the Seahawks. Floortje Leunisse shot from the set formation but Syracuse backup goalkeeper Abby Neitch got in the way. The rebound went to Desiderio, but Schreinemacher saved the shot to blow up the drive.

Wagner was only able to get off two more shots and finished with six total. Though Syracuse didn’t score again, it racked up seven shots in the final period alone.

Published on September 17, 2023 at 6:34 pm