mvolain's Blog

In their biggest game of the year, the No. 3 Syracuse Orange field hockey team came out swinging.

On senior day, the last game of the regular season, the Orange defeated rival No. 4 Uconn 3-2 in a battle for the regular season Big East crown.

Honorees Liz McInerney and Kelsey Millman each scored as the Orange toughed out another tight match with the Huskies, who have proven to be their toughest Big East opponent over the last four years.

“Every time we play this team it's a battle,” senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver said. “The fact that we're still undefeated at Coyne is amazing.”

The 36-game home winning streak is something the Orange hope to continue, should the NCAA give them a chance to play at home in the tournament.

“This is kind of why I play hockey,” McInerney said of the match up with UConn for the Big East title. “And I'm not going to lie, that goal felt great.”

McInerney scored the first goal of the game off a rebound shot from senior Iona Holloway that bounced off the post. The Huskies tied up the game just four minutes into the second half.

The next goal was a beautiful pass from freshman Gillian Pinder to senior captain Kelsey Millman, who dove to make the shot.

“Gill had been breaking out of the midfield with great speed all game,” Millman said. “When she broke her defender I knew she was going right to goal, so I just laid out and hit it into the goal.”

With eight minutes left in the game, it seemed the Orange had put the Huskies away for good with a goal off a penalty corner scored by Jordan Page, but the Huskies scored with less than five minutes left on a penalty corner of their own, bringing the score back to within one.

Great defensive work from Iona Holloway, juniors Laura Hahnefeldt and Anna Crumb made the game tough for the Huskies, and they did not allow the Huskies to even up the score in the waning moments of the game.

The story of the game was the emotion behind the team as they finished their regular season, and a hearty turn out in the stands made the win all the sweeter for the Orange as they head into the Big East tournament next week.

“You work hard, and you get rewarded with something like this, it's kind of the American Dream,” Coach Ange Bradley said. “I'm so proud of these girls. I'm glad we could send these seniors out with a win.”

Although the SU men's basketball team has a vastly different look than last year, the team appears ready to perform at a high level for their last year in the Big East conference.

Head coach Jim Boeheim called the group “the most advanced group we've ever had at this stage [in the preseason],” and the Orange themselves could not talk enough about how the strong the team is, in lieu of their off-season losses in personnel. 

The core group of returners—seniors Brandon Triche and James Southerland, juniors Baye Keita and C.J. Fair, and sophomore Rakeem Christmas—lead the charge with an infusion of young talent from sophomore guards Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney, along with freshman DaJuan Coleman and Jerami Grant, all of whom will have enlarged roles with the departures of Fab Melo, Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine and Dion Waiters.

Coach Boeheim said he has “no way of knowing what type of team this will be at this point in the year,” but noted that he's “never lose this many important players and remain ranked in the top 20.”

“It's a credit to the returners,” Boeheim said.

The Guards

Sophomore guards Carter-Williams and  Cooney, who saw only limited playing (Cooney was a red shirt), figure to have large roles in the offensive and defensive game this year.

“Trevor Cooney benefited [from being a red shirt] more than we could have expected,” Boeheim said. “Any normal year he would have played.”

Cooney, who has been compared to assistant coach and former Orange star Gerry McNamara because of his shooting ability, figures to play major minutes this year.

“He's earned it. He's put in the work.” McNamara said of Cooney, who played the most practice minutes of any player last year. “He's going to be a stud.”

McNamara also noted that although he does see himself in Cooney: “Cooney dunks better than me.”

Carter-Williams has been pointed out as a go-to scorer and an energy guy on the court. Carter-Williams saw sparse playing time with the depth above him last year, but figures to be a starter this year.

Boeheim noted that his lack of playing time did not hinder his development in the least.

“Playing against really good players in practice [like he did] is much more valuable than playing in games against bad players,” Boeheim said. “He's definitely ready to contribute.”

Although known primarily as an offensive player, Carter-Williams has improved on defense as well.

“My whole life I have been an offensive player,” Carter-Williams said. “But I take pride in my defense; it's part of my game.”

Carter-Williams added that he “can't wait to be that spark.”

Senior guard Triche stands out as the leader of the team. Although he is not known for his vocal leadership, his teammates attest to his leadership capabilities.    

“He's not a big yeller,” Carter-Williams said. “But he has taken me aside time and time again, when no one is there [practice] and helps point out things I was doing wrong or needed to work on.”

“This year he'll need to be more vocal, but he will be ready,” Carter-Williams added.

“Brandon has been a good player for three years,” Boeheim said. “This year he will be a great player.”

“In the past he deferred to the other guards, but he is going to step forward this year,” Boeheim added.

McNamara called Triche's pull-up jump shot “One of the best I've ever seen.”

“If he's more aggressive offensively early on – which he will be this year – he will set the tone for the entire game,” McNamara added. “You'll see a different Brandon Triche than you've seen. He thinks he's paid his dues.”

The Big Men

Although the departure of Fab Melo was expected, his loss is expected to be felt. Melo sent ripples through the organization with his questionable actions that led to his missing three games during the season and the entirety of the NCAA tournament. He was replaced by Christmas, who is prepared to take on Melo's role this year, with the help of fellow big men Baye Keita and freshman Coleman.

“Rakeem has put on about 20 pounds and bulked up this summer,” Boeheim said. “He's much better prepared for the rigors of a full time Big East schedule.”

Junior Baye Keita will continue to assist in either the 4 or 5 spot, as he did last year off the bench.

When asked what his role would be Baye Keita deferred responsibility to the coach.

“I need to play whatever role coach says,” he said. “Just me and Rak' can get it done.”

The defense overall should prove to be, yet again, one the Orange's strongest assets. Freshman forward Grant was called a “prototype of what we do here” by McNamara and the young faces on the team will play a significant role in the expansion of this new generation of Orange zone defense.

It is still too early to really say, but the Orange appear to be prepared to prove that they are just as good as last year, and to blow expectations off, and be better than a No. 15 rank.

“We lost some big personalities, but we're in good shape,” McNamara said. “We're really optimistic.” 

At a rain-drenched J.S. Coyne Stadium, the top-ranked Syracuse field hockey team improved their record to 11-0 with yet another shut out on Sunday.

Gillian Pinder and Liz McInerney led the Orange over Yale University (3-6) 5-0.

Pinder tallied two goals and an assist, and McInerney added a goal and two assists in the five-goal rout of the Bulldogs.

The inclement weather was not much of a factor for the high-powered Orange offense in the first half, where they scored all five of their goals—including three in four minutes—but the downpour in the second half, which created puddles and severely slowed down the ball, did hamper the desire for more goals.

“The ball doesn't travel too well in lakes,” Iona Holloway joked.

After two dangerous collisions toward the end of the second half, Coach Ange Bradley called time out and told her team to not worry about scoring.

“By the end of the half we were just trying to get out of there safely,” Holloway said.

The Bulldogs changed goalies at the half, and the combination of the new keeper and the intensified rain kept the Orange from adding to their lead.

“It definitely slowed the ball down,” Bradley said of the weather. “Unfortunately for us, that is an advantage to our opponents.”

However, the stellar play of the backs and senior goal keeper Leann Stiver kept the Bulldogs off the board to hand the Orange their fourth straight shutout and 34th straight win at home. The Orange now have seven shutouts in their 11 victories.

“It's another shut out, so you can't complain,” McInerney said.

The Orange will be on the road for the next three weekends, starting with a trip to Big East foe Providence on Oct. 6.

The Orange return to Coyne Stadium on Oct. 21 where they will meet Boston College.

After convincing shutout wins against Rutgers and No. 3-ranked Princeton last weekend, the Orange field hockey team has been voted as the No. 1 team in the nation.

When Tuesday's poll came out, the Orange (9-0) had secured 25 first place votes, supplanting the University of North Carolina (22 first place votes) as the top team in the nation. The Tar Heels had held the top spot for the majority of the season.

Friday, the Orange downed Rutgers (4-5) 6-0 behind two goals from All-American Kelsey Millman and two assists by sophomore Stephanie Hussey.

In Sunday's keynote match, the No. 2-ranked Orange squared off against the Princeton Tigers (7-1), and came out victorious following second half goals from Leonie Geyer and Emma Russell.

“Playing against them was like playing a mirror of ourselves, because the way they play is so similar to us,” said Liz McInerney, who was named the Big East Player of the Week. “It was very intense; everybody was exhausted by the end of it.”

The win over the Tigers was the Orange's second victory of the season over a top three team, as they beat North Carolina 1-0 in overtime earlier this season. The shutout over Princeton gave coaches across the country reason enough to give the Orange the top spot for the first time since 2008.

In 2008, the Orange made it to the semifinals in the national championship, the furthest the program has ever made it.

The Orange's offense-happy season has been complimented by stellar goaltending by starter Leann Stiver and backup Jess Jecko, who have allowed just six goals all season, and three in their last five games.

“They are the anchor, the backbone of the team,” Coach Ange Bradley said. “Leann Stiver has grown so much this year, especially in her voice and communication with the defense. It's been outstanding.”

A No. 1 rank does put pressure on the Orange, but they are not concerned.

“Being No. 1 is sometimes seen as a target on your back, but we don't see it that way,” Bradley added. “We see it as a badge on our chest, and we are extremely proud of it.”

The undefeated Orange face Louisville on Saturday at 12 pm and Yale on Sunday at 2 pm. Both games are at home at J.S. Coyne Stadium.