ITHACA, N.Y. — Syracuse’s Emily Hawryschuk spotted Nicole Levy in front of the Cornell goal in the first half. SU had scored the last four goals of the contest to take a four-goal lead.

Levy was handcuffed on the catch, though, with her back to the goal. It would take something special to score the fifth-straight with her eyes facing midfield.

But that was no problem for Levy. There was no need for a spin to try and square herself up to goal. Just an angle open low, between her own legs. She finished underhand past Cornell goalie Katie McGahan. Even the difficult seemed easy for SU against an unranked opponent, as has been the case all season.

“I’m to the point where I don’t really think about it, sometimes it just happens,” Levy said of the goal.

No. 9 Syracuse (6-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) faced little resistance at Schoellkopf Field and rolled by Cornell (4-3, 1-1 Ivy), 14-7, on Tuesday. The game was knotted at 3-apiece before SU rattled off five-straight, hit cruise control and never looked back. The story of most of the Orange’s season remained the same: Syracuse walloped an opponent it was supposed to beat.

“These are must-wins,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “Against the solid teams but not the top teams, you’ve got to be ready to play and you’ve got to be focused.”

The breakdown has been straightforward this season for SU. Against unranked opposition, the Orange is a perfect 5-0. Against ranked opponents, Syracuse is 1-2, with a win over then-No. 4 Florida the only result upsetting the status quo.

It’s been about goals. In its wins, the Orange has averaged 18.33. In its two losses, to then-No. 5 Maryland and then-No. 11 Virginia, Syracuse put up an average of 13.5. SU’s offense has firepower. On Tuesday, Hawryschuk led with five, and Levy added three.

Going forward, Syracuse will need to maintain that firepower in a gauntlet of ranked opponents. Hawryschuk said that Syracuse, which entered the game with the second-best shooting percentage in the nation, “needs to make sure that the shot we do take is a shot that’s gonna go in the net.”

Hawryschuk did just that midway through the first half as she drove toward the net when the whistle blew. New rules that allow for a quick restart off of fouls have been spottily enforced by referees, and all the Cornell players froze. But after a split second, Hawryschuk juked to her left and had no obstacle to an easy goal.

“Use what you do here and use the same method of preparation and same method of execution,” Gait said. “It’s just gonna be against some higher ranked teams.”

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On Tuesday, Syracuse’s offense went on the run it always seems to go on in wins. Amid the five-goal flurry, Levy’s between-the-legs finish was the highlight.

When the second half opened with no goals by either team for the first 13:27, it never seemed like a breakthrough was coming for Cornell. Asa Goldstock made a few easy saves early in the second half to ensure that the Big Red didn’t gain any momentum. By the game’s final buzzer, Goldstock had 16 saves. Most were nothing more than half-tries from tough angles that she swallowed with the pocket of her stick or deflected harmlessly high and wide.

“An opponent like Cornell, who typically plays us tough here, you gotta execute,” Gait said. “… Our defense stepped up today.”

Finally, Sam Swart broke the second-half drought with an easy goal after driving left and shrugging off her defender. The Orange added a handful more goals and its lesser opponent couldn’t produce the late game push it so badly needed.

When Hawryschuk drove straight at goal on a free-position shot and beat the goalie low, Cornell didn’t have an answer. When Neena Merola dished to Mary Rahal for an easy finish in front, Cornell didn’t have an answer. Three more Syracuse goals followed, capped by a Nicole Levy snipe into the top of the net, before the Big Red answered.

“Once the momentum shifts by that much, we get the confidence and the swagger to just finish the game,” Levy said.

The Orange allowed two goals in the second half, none until fewer than five minutes remained and Goldstock had been pulled from the game.

Hannah Van Middelem, Goldstock’s backup, made the final save of the game with about 30 seconds left. Syracuse cleared the ball up the field. Then the Orange just waited for the buzzer to sound and the result to be final.

From very early on in the game, it had never been in doubt.

Published on March 20, 2018 at 6:43 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3