SU Field Hockey downs No. 16 Louisville 4-2

Coming off back-to-back losses to ranked Atlantic Coast Conference foes, Syracuse field hockey returned home Friday afternoon looking to halt its mini skid. It wasn’t easy, but the Orange found a way to do so against No. 16 Louisville.

Despite struggling to convert on penalty corners for most of the contest, Syracuse returned to the win column with a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals. Four different players found the back of the net for SU in a win that saw it outshoot the opposition 19-8.

“I feel in the past we’ve kind of not shot the ball. Even though we only got four goals on 19 shots, the 19 shots are still a good start. We want to keep increasing that,” Syracuse forward Hattie Madden said.

The Orange opened the game on the front foot, setting the pace offensively in the opening minutes and forcing Louisville goalie Emily Young to make her first save just over two minutes in. After missing Syracuse’s past two games, Hattie didn’t need long to make her presence known. Less than five minutes  into play, she provided the assist on Aubrey Turner’s tally that gave the Orange an early 1-0 edge.

“She could be on the pitch, she could not be on the pitch. What you get from Hat is just pure passion. She wants the best for this program, this team and then everything she does is intentional (for the) team. You can’t say enough about a leader who does that,” Orange head coach Lynn Farquhar said.

The remainder of the period fell into a back-and-forth affair, as both sides failed to generate much on the offensive end. Hindered by Syracuse’s lockdown defense, the Cardinals didn’t register their first shot until the final minute of the frame. Still, that was all they needed to level the score at one apiece.

The second period was marred by Syracuse’s inability to take advantage of the opportunities it was given. SU outshot Louisville 9-1 and earned six penalty corner tries during the 15-minute stretch, but still went into the locker room at halftime in a 1-1 game.

Out of the break, Syracuse didn’t show any signs of frustration. Instead, it simply kept pushing the envelope and was rewarded as a result.

Less than two minutes into the second half, a Louisville mistake set up midfielder Bo Madden to take the first first penalty stroke of the contest. One-on-one with Young, Bo beat the netminder for her first goal of the campaign.

The remainder of the third frame saw both sides exchange offensive possessions as the Cardinals and Orange each racked up shots. Then, after coming up empty on its first 10 penalty corners, Syracuse finally broke through on its eleventh to extend its advantage to 3-1 late in the third. 

The Cardinals showed desperation in the final period as they pursued the ball more aggressively than ever. Louisville’s Gigi Edwards cut the deficit to 3-2, but from there the Orange stood firm down the stretch. An empty netter courtesy of SU’s Jovie Weaver sealed the 4-2 final score.

“There’s a persistence component, and we talked about our growth not being linear,” Farquhar said “We kept on battling, kept on earning (corners) and then we have to trust in each other and then also finish the job. It truly takes a team effort.”