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Syracuse freshman forward Iba Oching found herself with some space in the 70th minute with the Orange trailing 1-0. She made a nifty move to get past Maine’s Tegan Morrison, giving her a small opening for a shot just inside the 18-yard box.

Oching created more than enough space, booting the ball through the outstretched legs of Morrison and Anna Phillips. The forward’s strike was SU’s first, and only, goal of the match.

Oching’s goal knotted the game at 1-1, as Syracuse (1-0-1, Atlantic Coast Conference) tied Maine (1-0-1, America East Conference) despite being down for more than half the game. The Orange backline held strong amid high pressure, only allowing five shots on goal. Behind them, goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch also came up big, notching four saves.

Right out of the gate, Syracuse started off on the wrong foot. In the second minute, with the ball deep in SU’s territory, Gabby Wisbeck had the ball stolen from her. Maine’s Kayla Kraemer picked her pocket just to the right of the 18-yard box.

Kraemer passed the ball backward to her sister Abby Kraemer, who then found a wide-open Lara Kirkby in front of the goal. Kirkby sent a low line drive that ricocheted off of the right post and into the net, giving the Black Bears a 1-0 lead.

The Orange got their first scoring opportunity in the fifth minute off a corner kick. Ava Uribe, who tallied a goal and assist in SU’s win against UMass Thursday created a chance, but booted the ball straight to Maine goalie Jessica Kasacek.

For the next 15 minutes, Syracuse couldn’t get much going. The ball remained mostly in Maine’s possession deep in SU’s territory. Though, the defense held strong, including a key save by Vanderbosch after a turnover left Kirkby one-on-one with her.

Following this stretch, SU had some key missed opportunities. In the 21st minute, Ashley Rauch sent a cross to a wide-open Maya McDermott. But McDermott blasted it over the crossbar.

Then, at the end of the first half, Oching sent a long pass to Julia Dening, who found herself one-on-one with Kasacek. Dening got past Kasacek, leaving the net open. But her shot skidded left of the post as she tried to avoid two Maine defenders.

Maine possessed the ball for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half. In the 52nd minute, Jordane Pinette streaked down the right side after getting past SU’s Kate Murphy. But Murphy caught up to Pinette and forced a shot over the goal.

The Black Bears threatened again in the 61st minute. Luise Reinwald found an opening in front of the 18-yard box and sent the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal. Vanderbosch laid out and deflected the shot away from goal, to keep SU’s deficit at 1-0.

Shortly after Vanderbosch’s save, the Orange finally got on the board with Oching’s goal in the 70th minute.

A few minutes later, SU almost gave the lead back to Maine. Oching sent a pass up the field to McDermott, but McDermott was ruled offside. Just 30 seconds later, a foul on Allie Fouts gave Maine a free kick just right of the box, but the Syracuse defense cleared the ball moments later.

Following Oching’s equalizer, the Black Bears put pressure on the Orange. But the backline of Kylen Grant, substitute Cierra Collins, Murphy and Oching forced poor shots from Maine, keeping the game tied.

SU’s final opportunity of the match came in the 88th minute. McDermott made a move on a defender and passed the ball to Erin Flurey, who was open in the box. Flurey rattled off two shots, but both were blocked by Phillips. The clock struck zero two minutes later, ending the game in a 1-1 draw.

Published on August 18, 2024 at 6:35 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu