Stanford outshoots Syracuse Women’s Soccer to win 2-0
Stanford outshoots SU Women’s Soccer in 2-0 win
The Orange face 18 corner kicks and go 60 minutes without a shot, putting their postseason hopes on the line with four games left.
Syracuse women’s soccer found itself on the defensive almost immediately Thursday night against Stanford.
Goalie Maya Naimoli made her first save five minutes in, and it led to the first of many Cardinal corner kicks. Stanford finished with 18, the most Syracuse has faced this season.
The Orange managed one shot in the first half. Stanford had 16. The Cardinal scored only once in that stretch, when midfielder Eleanor Klinger finished a breakaway that left Syracuse outnumbered 3-1. The Orange then settled in defensively, and Naimoli made a difficult save in the final minute to keep the deficit at one.
The second half began much like the first. Stanford controlled possession and took five shots in the first 10 minutes while Syracuse did not take one. The Cardinal finally doubled their lead on a goal by Peyton Marinos, which officials reviewed for a possible handball.
Head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams believed it should have been called.
“It was a legit handball,” Adams said. “So it was unfortunate that the referee couldn’t see what everybody else saw.”
The frustration continued, and the Syracuse bench received a yellow card late in the game.
The Orange finally found momentum in the 69th minute, when midfielder Gabby Wisbeck took Syracuse’s first shot in 60 minutes. From there, Syracuse outshot Stanford 3-2 but could not score. It was the second straight game the Orange were shut out. Syracuse has scored in just one of its six ACC matches, a 2-1 win over Pitt.
Senior defender Jasmine Nixon said she saw positives in the closing stretch.
“We had a lot of good chances, and that can follow into our next four games,” Nixon said.
Those games will decide Syracuse’s season. Adams said a strong finish would keep the Orange in the postseason picture.
“At the end of the day, we got four games left,” Adams said. “If we are in all four, we’re looking at postseason. So it’s up to our players how much longer they want to play.”
Syracuse next travels to NC State, the first of two road games remaining.
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