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In the 11th minute of Syracuse and SMU’s first-ever meeting, Mustangs defender Sophie King sent a pass forward to Eliana Salama on the left side of the 18-yard box. Salama juked out SU’s Kylen Grant and created space on her left.

She passed the ball to Liz Eddy, who was positioned in front of the goal. Eddy circled around two defenders and fired a short-range shot, which was blocked by Kate Murphy. Goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch dove to save the ball as well, leaving the left side of the goal vacant.

The ball trickled to the left post, where SMU’s Truth Byars was waiting. Byars took advantage of the empty net, tapping the ball in to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.

This became a familiar feeling for Syracuse (6-2-1, 0-1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), as it was defeated by SMU (5-3-0, 1-0-0 ACC) 4-1. SMU dominated offensively, peppering the net with 20 shot attempts, 12 of which were on goal. It was a disappointing start to conference play for the Orange, after they only gave up three goals to start the year.

Early in the game, SU possessed the ball deep in SMU’s territory but came away empty handed. In the sixth minute, Erin Flurey stole the ball from a Mustangs defender and passed the ball forward to Anna Rupert. Rupert was able to force a corner, but the attempt was unsuccessful, as Rupert’s header was corralled by SMU goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde.

Minutes later, Ava Uribe sent a perfect cross to the left side of the goal after putting a nifty move on King. However, Murphy’s header bounced wide of the left post.

But in the 11th minute, SMU got on the board first on Byars’ tap in — her third of the season.

The Mustangs maintained consistent pressure for the next 10 minutes but couldn’t double their lead. SMU’s best opportunity came on a corner kick in the 16th minute, but the shot was easily cleared by Grant.

Possession switched over to SU shortly after, but the Orange squandered multiple scoring opportunities. First, Rupert dribbled down the right side and sent a cross to the left of the goal. But Maya McDermott headed the ball over the goal. Soon after, Syracuse found itself in the same situation. This time, McDermott’s shot trickled right to Cota-Yarde.

In the 37th minute, the Orange threatened again. SMU’s Emma Alvord was awarded a yellow card after she ran over Murphy from behind. SU tried a set piece, as Murphy sent a grounder to Vita Naihin to the right of the net. Naihin’s shot, though, was knocked away by two defenders.

Syracuse’s last chance of the half came a minute later, when a long pass to McDermott left her one-on-one with Cota-Yarde. But the goalkeeper played aggressively, forcing McDermott to chip it over her and out of bounds.

SMU controlled the pace in the second half, tacking on three more goals. In the 50th minute, Salama possessed the ball at midfield and sent a pass through two SU defenders to Eddy. Eddy moved past Grant, who was caught off balance, giving her an open look inside the 18. The freshman booted a line drive just out of reach of Vanderbosch for the score.

SU went on the attack soon later, but again was unsuccessful. Directly off a throw-in, Flurey received a long pass and dribbled the ball to the left of the 18-yard box. However, her angle was cut off by SMU, forcing a shot to the corner that was kick saved by Cota-Yarde.

Then, just two minutes after Salama rocketed a shot off of the crossbar, Alvord made the score 3-0 with her first goal of the season. On the right side of the box, the grad student tried to send a cross to Mackenzie Rudden. Instead, the ball was closer to the goal than Alvord anticipated, and it floated over Vanderbosch into the net.

The Mustangs continued to test Vanderbosch late in the game. In the 71st minute, SU’s goalkeeper saved two consecutive shots, the first by Salama to the left of the box, and the second by Alvord after it ricocheted back to her.

Vanderbosch’s effort sparked the Orange, as Flurey got ahead of Abby Hampton inside the 18. Hampton had no choice but to foul Flurey, handing SU a penalty kick. Flurey easily converted the attempt, pulling Syracuse within two.

This didn’t last long. After a through pass from Kelly Gordon, Alvord easily evaded a charging Vanderbosch, putting the ball into the left corner for her second goal of the contest.

For the rest of the game, SU played aggressively on offense but failed to break SMU’s backline. The Orange notched six more shots, though none found the net. As the clock struck zero, it marked the end to a frustrating game for SU – and the first ACC win in program history for SMU.

Published on September 12, 2024 at 11:24 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99