Albany worked the ball around the attacking zone midway through the first half on Thursday. With 13:37 remaining in the frame, Albany’s Kaylee Rickert fired wide. Another shot sailed wide, this one from Emma Powlin, 12 seconds later. And with 13:06 on the clock, the 90-second shot clock reached zero. It was the first shot-clock violation forced by Syracuse in the contest.

Less than three minutes later, the number behind the goal reached zero again and a buzzer sounded. Albany had possessed the ball for the full 90 seconds without even shooting. As the Great Danes swung the ball around the perimeter, SU denied any attempts at penetration with quick feet and strong sticks.

Albany had just the two shot-clock violations in the first half. But even when the Great Danes weren’t holding the ball too long, the Orange defense was just as stifling.

No. 5 Syracuse (3-0) shut down Albany (0-2) in the first half of Thursday’s game in the Carrier Dome, leading to a 19-12 SU win. After the first half hour of the game, while the teams jogged to their respective locker rooms, the scoreboard read 11-2 in Syracuse’s favor. Albany chipped its way back into the game during the second half, but SU’s defense had already made sure that Syracuse would hold the lead at game’s end.

“I think our defense has just been taking film very, very seriously,” SU midfielder Kerry Defliese said. “And knowing our players that we’re on and just working together.”

From the first possession of game onward, the Orange matched up in a man-to-man defense. SU head coach Gary Gait historically uses a zone defense for his teams, but this year he said things may be different. On Thursday, it appeared Syracuse stuck with the man-to-man all game long. On that first possession, Albany’s Kendra Harbinger broke free. Her, shot wasn’t dangerous, though, traveling right into SU goalie Asa Goldstock’s chest. It was one of few clean looks for the Great Danes all half.

About eight minutes in, Rickert looked to attack from the left side of the field. But SU’s Ella Simkins reached for the ball and knocked it loose. Simkins struggled to pick up the ground ball, but as the Orange did all half, a swarm of players pursued the ball, picked it up and headed the other way. By the end of the first half, SU held a 14-7 margin on ground balls.

“Ella’s been working really hard,” Defliese said. “… knowing when to slide, where to slide, she’s really good at that.”

A few minutes later, SU’s Natalie Wallon jumped a passing lane and picked off an Albany feed toward the front of goal. She jumpstarted a transition opportunity that ended with Syracuse scoring on an own goal that bounced off an Albany defender. It was the fourth of five-straight SU goals in a sequence where the Orange defense couldn’t do anything wrong while giving its offense all the momentum.

Emily Resnick joined in on the interception action later in the first half when she stepped in front of a Rickert pass. Although there were a few minor turnovers after the picked-off pass, Albany never got the ball back over midfield before Syracuse scored its 11th goal of the half, courtesy of Emily Hawryschuk in the ensuing sequence. Time and again, defensive stops boosted the offense.

“If they have a good shut,” attack Alie Jimerson said, “that means we have to finish it on the offensive end, so that’s what we want to do every single time.”

Defliese defended the point of attack all game long for the Orange. Whichever Albany player was aligned at the top of its attack found Defliese awaiting their move. And the SU sophomore was impenetrable.

When a Great Danes player went right, Defliese slid left and beat her to the spot. If the attack went left, Defliese slid right and got there first. On the few occasions the attack got an edge, she caught up before any look on goal arose.

“We got good matchups and when we needed to help we were there,” Gait said.

Defliese’s performance summed up what the Orange did to shut down Albany in the first half. There were no super, diving plays. No quick double teams or superb saves from Goldstock. Just solid combinations of footwork and stickwork to almost always keep the Great Danes away from any danger zones.

The second half featured lots of substitutions by the Orange. Four goalkeepers saw time in the final 30 minutes. Albany scored 10 goals after the break. By then, it didn’t matter. Syracuse’s first-half defense had all but assured the result after just half the game had gone by.

“I think that they showed their lacrosse IQ,” Gait said. “They’ve been learning from the last couple games to improve and get better.”

Published on February 22, 2018 at 9:25 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3