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Head coach Ange Bradley told her squad that she wanted them to be “relentless” against Columbia. Quirine Comans exemplified Bradley’s motto, having entered the game with three goals in the Orange’s opening three games.

Ten minutes into the matchup, Comans beat a Columbia defender down the baseline and slid the ball perfectly across the middle. Freshman Lieke Leeggangers was in the perfect spot next to the goal and tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Two minutes later, Comans capitalized on a poor pass by the Lions, pick-pocketing the ball in their last line of defense before heading straight to goal. She composed herself, looked up and put the ball through Columbia goalie Katie Wimmer’s legs to give the Orange a 3-0 lead.

Comans finished with a hat trick in No. 10 Syracuse’s (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 6-2 win over Columbia (1-1, 0-0 Ivy League). She combined for seven points in total, helping the Orange bring their average to 5.5 goals per game.

The Orange have been successful this year using their pressure and turning it into offense early. Whenever an opponent had the ball, two Orange defenders surrounded them. This has helped Syracuse get off to perfect starts, and it was no different against Columbia.

The Orange seemed to score their first goal off a Joy Haarman backhanded shot. However, after a video review, the goal was disallowed due to foot interference. While that could have slowed the Orange down, it did the opposite.

Less than a minute after seeing Syracuse’s goal taken off the board, Charlotte De Vries saw a loose ball that bounced off the Columbia defender’s stick. She pounced on it and dribbled 20 yards into the crease before firing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for her first goal of the season.

SU didn’t score in the second quarter, but its defense stepped up like it has all season. The Orange allowed just one shot in those 15 minutes, shutting down a penalty corner in the process.

In the second half, Comans was not done. De Vries dribbled around three Columbia defenders and went down to the baseline. She hit a backhanded cross that flew into the air in the middle of the goal. Comans watched the ball rocket towards her and tapped it into the net to give Syracuse a 4-0 lead.

The Orange allowed their first goal of the season after completing 14 quarters without letting an opponent score. Brooke Borzymowski had a stellar performance with two saves, but she couldn’t stop a low shot to her left off a penalty corner in the third period.

Syracuse was able to respond shortly after earning its own penalty corner. De Vries ripped the first shot that was saved, but sophomore Willemijn Boogert put away the rebound. Boogert’s second goal of the year put Syracuse up 5-1.

Later in the quarter after another Columbia goal, Syracuse answered back again. This time, Comans got her hat trick. The Netherlands native scored off a feed from Leeggangers for her sixth goal of the season. Comans is the second SU player to record a hat trick this season.

“I am happy about the goals but I am more happy with the win. I would be just as happy if anyone else scored those goals,” Comans said.

Published on September 4, 2022 at 6:55 pm

Contact Jason: jdmazer@syr.edu