Syracuse women’s soccer fails to capitalize in home finale

Syracuse women’s soccer broke their 1,112-day winless streak in ACC play, defeating Miami on the road in what was a huge win for the program last Saturday. But this weekend at the SU Soccer Stadium was a much different story. 

Against a sub-par Boston College team that was winless in ACC play itself coming into Sunday’s matchup, the Orange lost their seventh game of the season, falling 1-0 to the Eagles.

​​After the game, Syracuse head coach Nicky Adams said her team’s mistakes led to a self-inflicted downfall.

“I think BC capitalized off of our mistakes,” Adams said. “I don’t think they really created anything on their own. I think it was all of our mistakes that caused them to be dangerous.”

In the first half, the Orange let several chances go. After a long-range Boston College free kick in the 15th minute nearly caught Syracuse goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch off guard, the Orange had two fantastic looks at goal.

Senior forward Mia Klammer saw her first-time attempt from inside the box drift just wide of the post, while sophomore defender Anna Croyle failed to convert on what Adams called a “wide open goal.”

Following Croyle’s miss, the Eagles sent the ball down the field towards freshman forward Sadie Mathis, who found herself in on goal after sloppy defending by the Orange. Vanderbosch made a huge stop to deny Mathis. But on the ensuing corner, the ball struck SU junior forward Vita Naihin’s hand.

After a video review, a penalty kick was awarded. Boston College’s Amalia Dray stepped up and beat Vanderbosch to her right, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead that they never looked back on. 

Adams was frustrated with Croyle’s miss immediately prior to BC’s breakthrough. 

“If we score that goal, they don’t score,” she said. “We left things wide open for them with our mistakes.”

Towards the end of the first half, SU produced a bright spell of attacking play that nearly resulted in an equalizer. 

The Orange found themselves delivering a corner kick into the box with fifteen seconds remaining in the half. After a few deflections, the ball popped out to sophomore defender Jasmine Nixon, who rifled an attempt on goal. BC goalkeeper Olivia Shippee parried the shot over the crossbar as time expired, preserving her clean sheet. 

In the second half, Syracuse continued to push into BC’s end of the field. Freshman midfielder Julia Arbelaez played a big part in the attack, demonstrating flashy speed and technical ability that created chances for the Orange. 

“She’s got a very exciting future ahead of her,” Adams said. “(Shes) one of our most high IQ players, very good technically.”

Arbelaez had some decent connections with Klammer, who registered four shots in what was likely her final game at SU Soccer Stadium. After the game, Adams praised her senior forward. 

“She’s tall, strong, speedy, can get behind. She can hold the ball. So definitely a special player,” she said.

Despite Klammer and co’s efforts, Syracuse was unable to capitalize. The Orange pressured BC’s backline for the final ten minutes of the game, but never had a true direct look at goal. 

The final whistle confirmed SU’s seventh game this season without a goal. 

“It’s not like we didn’t create anything,” Adams said disappointedly after the game. “At the end of the day, we just didn’t put it in the back of the net.”

For competitive purposes, Syracuse’s season is all but over. After dropping their final home game of the season in disappointing fashion, the Orange will travel to North Carolina next week for their last two contests of the season against Duke and UNC. 

The pair of games against ACC blue bloods could be a chance for Adams to further develop the team’s underclassman, who she says could bring promise to the squad in years to come. 

“You look at (Julia Arbelaez), you look at Olivia Bozzo and Abby Incorvaia, the future is very, very bright,” she said.

But for now, the program is in a tough spot. In the last three years, the Orange have managed just three results at home against ACC teams, none of which were wins. Adams will have serious work to do this offseason if she wishes to make Syracuse Women’s Soccer a relevant team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.