As the Orange approached the 88th minute against Eastern Michigan, forward Meghan Root positioned herself near the box with the ball, hugging the baseline.

Root had missed a shot attempt two minutes earlier, failing to break the 1-1 standstill in the match. Instead of charging the goal, Root chipped a high looping ball across the goal to Telly Vunipola. Vunipola positioned herself under the ball, guiding her header to the top right corner of the net.

“It’s early in the season, and this is the second time we have had to dig out of a hole,” head coach Nicky Adams said. “Meghan Root did 100% absolutely the right thing with the chip back in. Really good stuff for that final goal.”

In Syracuse’s (2-1) win over Eastern Michigan (0-4) on Sunday, the Orange finished with 20 shot attempts, 16 more than the Eagles. SU held most of the possession in its 2-1 win, using its defenders and midfielders to create counterattacking opportunities for forwards. Syracuse also dominated the Eagles in corner kicks 13-2.

SU was able to get its offensive opportunities through the success of a press defense which it started from kick-off. Within the first 20 minutes of the game, Syracuse had five crosses to a forward waiting in the box, defender Alina Miagkova sending three of those passes.

But the Orange didn’t convert on any of the attempts. Adams expected this, as she said its inability to finish on opportunities was due to the youth of the team and the lack of chemistry the team has because it’s early in the season.

“We are still waiting for that one person to just put their head down and solidify it for us,” Adams said. “We were creating opportunities, but maybe we were taking one too many touches to get the ball off our foot or one too many passes.”

In the fourth minute of the game, an extra touch led to Vunipola’s shot getting blocked. A minute later, an extra touch by Root allowed Eastern Michigan defenders to regain ground and block another shot. The Orange continued to get the ball in transition but still couldn’t convert even though they were playing “smart,”Adams said.

“I am really enjoying our transition moments,” Adams said. “Now it’s just the final piece of putting it in the back of the net.”

Defender Jenna Tivnan also found success getting opportunities in the box, specifically off corner kicks and counterattacks. At the end of the first half, Tivnan powered through Eastern Michigan’s defense, but Rebecca Przybylo came out of her normal position to jump in front of Tivnan’s attempt.

Despite Tivnan’s lack of success, Root said the defender was able to play a crucial role in the Orange’s counterattack with her ability to use her feet and beat opposing players.

“(Tivnan) is awesome, defensively and offensively,” Root said. “She brings both of those threats, and she has done a good job of kind of pushing the offense, dribbling up and cutting people or finding a long-ball over the top.”

For the remainder of the first half, Syracuse kept most of the possession, only allowing one attempt from EMU at the end of the 43rd minute. At the beginning of the last period, the Orange maintained their high press defense to try and force errors, Adams said.

SU wasn’t able to force any errors, instead committing some of its own with an offside call 58 minutes in. The Eagles were able to penetrate the Orange’s defense on the ensuing possession, and Syracuse defender Zoe Van de Cloot brought down an opposing player in the box, awarding EMU a penalty.

Syracuse goalie Lysianne Proulx saved Eastern Michigan’s Simone Chiodo’s penalty after successfully diving right, but the Orange fell asleep on the rebound. EMU midfielder Maddie O’Farrell read the rebound and scored past Proulx to give it the lead. The Eagles scored on just their third attempt, while Syracuse was unable to score on its last 14.

The Orange kept their high-pressure defense following the goal, but Adams began preparing a formation change to help SU claw back into the game. She wanted to move to a 3-3-4, after running a 5-4-1 earlier in the game.

But in the 73rd minute, midfielder Vunipola was able to make her way towards the baseline before sending a cross towards the crease. Sophomore forward Hannah Pilley, who went onto the field just six minutes prior, charged at the ball. She didn’t make an extra pass, sending the ball past EMU’s goalie on SU’s 15th shot attempt of the game.

“They want to win. The attitudes are changing, and you are going to see the continuous fight from this group no matter what,” Adams said.

Published on August 29, 2021 at 8:29 pm

Contact Zach: zhgoldma@syr.edu