Phil Wheddon knew Friday’s match was a must-win if his team wants to be a competitor in the Big East. Syracuse had too much in its favor to let it slip away.

“Those are exactly the words I used,” Wheddon said.  “We’re at home, we had a big crowd, the stadium looked great, this for us was a must-win.”

The Orange (6-4-2, 3-1-1 Big East) used all of that to its advantage en route to a 3-1 win over Seton Hall (6-7, 1-4) Friday on a cold, rainy night at SU Soccer Stadium in front of 313 fans. Three different players scored for Syracuse in a game where controlling the ball was a challenge because of the slippery turf.

Despite Wheddon’s message to his team that the game was a “must-win,” Alyscha Mottershead said the players didn’t feel any added pressure.

“In the Big East almost every game is a must-win game so it’s kind of pressure that you just have come to expect,” she said.

Players struggled to find solid footing all game. With such a slick ball, both teams had to find a way to limit their mistakes.

Seton Hall goalkeeper Gina Maiorana learned this the hard way in the 24th minute. After she extended too far outside of the box to clear a ball, Mottershead played the deflection right back into the box. Senior Jenna Rickan then headed the ball into an empty net to give the Orange a 1-0 lead.

But in the 32nd minute, it was Syracuse who fell victim to an error when the ball slid through its backline and stopped in the box. Seton Hall forward Katie Ritter ripped the ball into the Orange goal to tie the game.

Slippery conditions were highlighted again six minutes later when Seton Hall’s keeper, Alyssa Kelly, could not hold onto the ball and Mottershead kicked the loose ball past her to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead.

Mottershead said that in such wet conditions, players have to follow the ball knowing that anything can happen.

“You know that the keeper is going to have to make a difficult save and luckily for me I just followed it up,” Mottorshead said.

In the 57th minute, freshman Erin Simon followed up a ball that came loose after an SU player slipped, crossing it into the box where Jackie Firenze headed it in to give the Orange a two-goal lead at 3-1. That gave Syracuse separation as it held the Pirates offense in check for the rest of the game.

The Orange matched its season high for goals in a game with three, but the game was about the Orange defense. In the second half, Seton Hall only took one shot.

Wheddon hopes to see his team play more like they did in the second half going forward.

“I would love to see us put together a complete game at the back as well, I mean we dropped off and gave them a little bit too much space to play in the first half,” Wheddon said.  “In the second half once we condensed the field a bit and gave them less space to play we limited them to even fewer shots.”

Mottershead said the slick conditions called for a need for a strong defensive effort because of the fluke plays that can result from the wet field. The defensive unit was ready for any challenges that came as a result of the weather.

“If one person ever got beat, slipped, fell, then we’re always right behind them to save them,” Mottershead said.

Published on September 29, 2012 at 9:51 am

Contact Jack: jstruitt@syr.edu