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With two seconds remaining in the second quarter, Syracuse led Longwood 1-0. The Lancers’ defense had already saved six shots, but SU was pushing down the field toward its attacking half. Annabelle Vossenaar slung her second shot of the day on goal, but it was saved by Longwood goaltender Sophie Mooldijk. Vivian Rowan stood nearby, rebounding the save off of Mooldijk and shooting it right back her way, giving SU a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Rowan’s shot was just one of the Orange’s season-high 24 shots Sunday. The extensive opportunities led Syracuse (5-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 4-0 victory over Longwood (3-3, 1-0 Mid-American Conference).

Coming off of a 5-0 loss to No. 2 North Carolina just two days prior, SU’s offense was explosive despite a sluggish first quarter. Syracuse had five shots in the first 15 minutes, though none of them reached the back of the net. The Orange also had five corner opportunities but only got three shots off on the attempts. Bo van Kempen had a try saved by Mooldjik and Vossenaar shot too high on her attempt. Berber Bakermans also put one on net seven minutes into the game, but it was immediately blocked.

Likewise, Longwood’s offense was stagnant, putting zero shots on the board throughout the quarter. The Lancers couldn’t get anything going on SU’s nine fouls. They also didn’t have a corner attempt across the entire period.

Like the first 15 minutes, SU and Longwood started extremely deliberately. Syracuse had two shots in the first eight minutes of the quarter. Nina van Asselen had a shot saved by Mooldijk, and Aiden Drabick shot wide.

But Syracuse came alive later in the second quarter, scoring two of its four goals. SU got on the board when van Kempen scored her team-high fifth goal of the season. Bakermans was handed the assist on the penalty corner. It was her first assist of the season.

Longwood also produced its only two shots of the game in those 15 minutes. The Lancers’ shots occurred within a minute of each other, both 13 minutes into the quarter. Madison Wiley and Cara O’Beirne both fired wide.

SU looked to be going into halftime with a one goal lead until Rowan scored with two seconds remaining. The goal marked Rowan’s third of the season and doubled Syracuse’s lead.

As the third quarter got underway, Syracuse applied more pressure. The Orange produced eight shots in the quarter, scoring on Lieke Leeggangers’ first goal of the season. The goal came on a penalty corner, assisted by Willemijn Boogert.

With Vera Hekkenberg in goal after replacing Louise Pert, Longwood still couldn’t make offensive moves. The Lancers were held to zero shots in the quarter, and they were unable to capitalize on SU’s 11 fouls.

Longwood’s Mooldijk had 13 saves on the day, but without any offense, Longwood didn’t come close to victory. In the final 15 minutes, Syracuse had five more shots, scoring on a penalty corner with nine minutes remaining. Hattie Madden was assisted by van Kempen for her second goal of the season.

Finishing 4-0, Syracuse is back in the win column after losing versus North Carolina on Friday. Its next game is at Wake Forest on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.

Published on September 22, 2024 at 3:25 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_