With all of Syracuse’s fall sports wrapped up, The Daily Orange Sports Staff reviewed each team’s season. No team made it out of the second round of their respective sport’s NCAA tournament, and some teams failed to make the postseason altogether. Still, players like Ryan Raposo shined, and teams like Field Hockey, who beat three top-five teams, enjoyed high-points.

Below are the season-defining statistics for each Syracuse fall team.

Syracuse football allowed 50 sacks this year. Only two teams – Old Dominion and Akron – allowed more in the regular season. As SU (5-7, 2-6 Atlantic Coast) slipped further down the conference ranks, the sacks piled up. By the time the Orange lost to Florida State on Oct. 26, Syracuse had allowed seven or more sacks in three-straight games against Power 5 opponents and 37 total.

The Orange’s protection of the quarterback improved in the final four games of the season, leading to two Syracuse wins. Part of the success came following a lineup switch when Carlos Vettorello and Airon Servais rotated spots, putting Servais at left tackle and Vettorello at center. Following that switch, SU’s quarterbacks were sacked just five times in three games.

But the early season woes on the offensive line will be what is remembered from Syracuse’s 2019 season because of how much it inhibited the offense. For a large portion of the year, SU couldn’t run the ball. When forced to pass, quarterback Tommy DeVito rarely had time to set his feet before a defender had hands on him.

Raposo finished with 15 goals, improving upon his tally of four from his freshman year. Only three players in program history have finished a season with more goals than Raposo — most recently Paul Young with 16 in 1991.

Raposo’s breakout campaign culminated with two goals in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, when Syracuse (8-7-5, 2-4-2 ACC) beat Rhode Island on his late penalty goal. He was the focal point of an improved Syracuse offense in 2019. While the Orange generated about the same number of shots per game as the previous year, Raposo’s finishing and creativity in and around the penalty box helped SU beat two ranked teams and return to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in eight years.

After managing to score only 11 goals in 2018, head coach Phil Wheddon resigned and Nicky Adams took over. The transition wasn’t easy; the Orange scored only 12 goals in 16 games this season.

That offensive drought for the Orange (3-11-2, 1-7-1 ACC) led to zero road wins and included a stretch from Sept. 1 to Oct. 9 where SU only scored one goal – it was on a penalty kick. The Orange were held shotless on Oct. 4 against Notre Dame and were outshot 262-148 on the season.

Syracuse was also hindered by injuries and couldn’t run a full 11-on-11 practice the entire season.

Junior Kate Hostage, SU’s 2018 leading goal scorer, missed the entire season, as did junior forward Kate Donovan. Key contributors – seniors Sydney Brackett and Georgia Allen – were also among the players to have prolonged absences. Third-string goalie and former SU volleyball standout Santita Ebangwese was forced to play minutes at forward for several games.

Despite the team’s offensive futility, junior goalie Lysianne Proulx shined, leading the ACC with 83 saves.

Though Syracuse lost 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Orange (12-7, 3-3 ACC) beat three top-5 teams in 2019. Wins against No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Connecticut and No. 5 Louisville earned them their 11th national tournament berth under head coach Ange Bradley.

Early in the season, SU relied heavily on freshman Charlotte de Vries (15 goals) on offense, but it eventually developed a more balanced attack. SU’s leading scorer finished the season on a four-game scoreless streak.

SU ended its season with losses to Louisville in the ACC tournament and Princeton in the NCAA tournament. In the two postseason games combined, the Orange scored one goal.

After top-2 finishes for both the men and women in their first two meets of 2019, Syracuse looked like it was rebounding from a rough finish at the NCAA Championships in 2018. Last year, the men finished 26th and the women failed to qualify.

At the third meet of the season, the Orange began to slip. The men finished 24th while the women finished 25th – one of the worst regular season performances in recent history.

Soon after that, top runners on both sides experienced injuries and the women didn’t qualify for the national meet. The men finished 27th of 31 teams, their lowest finish since 2008.

Last season, Polina Shemanova recorded a freshman-record 447 kills as the Orange made their first NCAA tournament appearance. This season, that momentum continued for the sophomore, who had 485 kills and led the ACC in kills, kills per set, points and points per set.

Though the Orange (12-13, 9-9 ACC) finished eighth in the conference after a slow start and early-season injuries, Shemanova was the driving force for SU. Head coach Leonid Yelin said he expected Shemanova to step up in the game’s most important moments.

During a five-match winning streak, Shemanova won ACC Player of the Week three-straight times, averaging 25.8 kills per game in that span. The Orange upset Notre Dame and Louisville, the then-second and -third best teams in the conference, respectively. Against the Cardinals, Shemanova had a school-record 36 kills and weeks later was a unanimous selection to the All-ACC first team.

Graphics made by Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

Published on December 4, 2019 at 9:33 pm