Eight minutes in, Syracuse continued scoring goal after goal.

The Orange cycled the ball effortlessly and found multiple ways to get right in front of the cage. Stanford could not contain Syracuse’s attack. Time after time, an SU player would find an open seam.

‘They were pressuring us pretty tightly in the beginning, and I think we were able to move the ball and get some confidence early on,’ senior midfielder Christina Dove said.

With those eight minutes, the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team had all but secured a 16-7 victory over No. 12 Stanford (1-1) Sunday in front of 272 fans at the Carrier Dome. The strong start erased what appeared to be a good matchup on paper with two Top 25 teams squaring off and turned it into a convincing victory.

The win saw the No. 6 Orange (2-0) close out its opening weekend with two victories. SU also defeated Colgate 17-5 on Friday.

‘We were able to get the momentum early and let up a little bit in the first half,’ Dove said. ‘In the second half, I think we could have kept going harder, but we were still satisfied with our offensive output.’

Freshman midfielder Tegan Brown buried the first goal of the game at the two-minute mark on a pass from Halley Quillinan. The Orange refused to let up and fired in five more goals over a span of six minutes and 11 seconds.

Syracuse used quick passes to catch the Stanford defenders on their heels. When a Cardinal defender committed to the ball, a Syracuse player was able to find a cutting teammate for an open look at the goal.

In total, the Orange surrendered only six shots on goal and two lost draws to jump out to an 11-2 lead at halftime.

‘It doesn’t mean that once you’re up you can take them lightly because they’re still a very strong team,’ said junior Tee Ladouceur, who tied her career high with seven points. ‘They’re not going to roll over and die for us. We have to keep playing hard.’

For SU head coach Gary Gait, it was a combination of several different offenses he implemented in practice. Just when Stanford would get used to one, the Orange was able to change focus and continue on its scoring barrage.

‘We ran different offenses and different defenses than we showed Friday, and I think the players were pretty excited about that,’ Gait said. ‘We came out executed, and everything seemed to work. That is what you always hope for.’

Coming off last season, the Orange had to fill the void of all-time leading scorer Katie Rowan’s departure, a role freshman attack Michelle Tumolo looked to fill on Sunday.

Tumolo showed immediate results, netting a hat trick and dishing out four assists in her debut against Colgate and added a goal and four assists against Stanford. Tumolo is tied for the team lead with 12 points after the opening weekend.

‘When we’re on the field, age isn’t a factor,’ Ladouceur said. ‘I think Michelle Tumolo and I connect very well together on the field. Our chemistry is great.’

Stanford closed the gap as much as they could in the second half, scoring four consecutive goals from 14:09 to 2:14. But the lead that Syracuse amassed from the first eight minutes proved too much. The offensive firepower provided enough of a buffer to defer any Cardinal runs in the second.

And for Dove, coming out strong is exactly what the Orange needed to start the year.

‘I think having a key win like this going into our season will jump-start us and for Virginia,’ Dove said. ‘We’re definitely going to have some momentum going into that game.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on February 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm