It only took 22 seconds of overtime for Marquette to eliminate Syracuse from playoff contention.

The 1-0 loss to the Golden Eagles at Syracuse Soccer Stadium in front of 124 on Friday, combined with a Pittsburgh victory, ensured the Orange would not be one of the 10 teams to play in the Big East tournament.

Marquette’s Meghan Connelly received a pass on the right side just outside the penalty area. The senior lofted a shot that curved from the right post all the way to the top left corner of the net. SU goalie Eliza Bennett-Hattan never had a chance to stop it.

Syracuse head coach Pat Farmer said he changed his strategy late in the game because he knew Pittsburgh was winning its game and a tie would not help the Orange. He said the different strategy left the team with fewer defenders while trying to score the winning goal.

‘We knew that we needed to win the game,’ Farmer said. ‘It’s my nature to go for the win.’

The Orange played most of the game with one more player than the Golden Eagles because Marquette goalie Laura Boyer was given a red card in the first half. Just before the 24th minute, SU player Amanda Arcuri chased after a ball just outside the penalty area. Boyer hesitated, then came out to play the ball, but could not get there before Arcuri. Arcuri shot toward the goal and Boyer deflected it with her hand. The deflection was an intentional hand ball, leading to an automatic red card.

Despite having an extra player, Syracuse had trouble mounting offensive attacks. The Orange spent most of the game on the defensive, as Marquette tallied 17 shots to Syracuse’s nine. Farmer said he was not surprised his team could not score with the advantage.

‘I think that’s a deal that happens at a lot of levels,’ Farmer said. ‘The team with 10 gets really psyched to run all over and make up for the person they’re missing, and unless the team with 11 is very good and very patient with the ball, its hard for them to find the extra player.’

Freshman Tessa MacDougal led the attack for the Orange, but was only able to generate one shot over the course of the game. She said the team did not change its strategy much after enjoying the one-player advantage.

‘I guess we do attack a bit more,’ MacDougal said. ‘But I think it’s more the team that’s down that needs to adjust.’

Constant rain poured down on the players in the first half, making every save an adventure for both goalies. Midway through the first half, Marquette put a weak shot on goal and Bennett-Hattan dove to make the save.

When she hit the ground, the ball squirted out and sat in front of her for a moment. Connelly ran to the spot and ripped a shot off Bennett-Hattan and over the crossbar. Bennett-Hattan said the ball seemed like it was on the ground for an eternity before it was kicked out of bounds.

‘I know it must have been like two or three seconds,’ Bennett-Hattan said. ‘It did feel like a long time.’

The freshman goalie said she would not use the weather as an excuse, but said it did change the way she had to play.

‘I think I played a little more scrappy,’ Bennett-Hattan said. ‘The saves weren’t sloppy but they weren’t the normal technique saves.’

Published on October 22, 2006 at 12:00 pm