Syracuse looked shell-shocked on the ice after its stunning 2-1 loss to Lindenwood.

Less than 24 hours later following the disappointing outing, though, Syracuse responded with a convincing 4-1 win over Lindenwood to end the first half of its season.

Senior defender Caitlin Roach described Friday’s defeat in the simplest way possible.

“They outworked us and got their shots on net,” Roach said.

SU (8-8-2) displayed a lack of energy from the start against Lindenwood (2-14-2) with Chancellor-designate Kent Syverud and Director of Athletics Daryl Gross among the 202 people in attendance at Tennity Ice Pavilion on Friday night. The Lions struck first when forward Kendra Broad scored halfway through the second period to give her squad a 1-0 edge.

Nearly two periods into the game, Syracuse was unable to capitalize on any opportunities against sophomore goalie Nicole Hensley. That changed when Roach delivered on a power-play goal by going coast to coast and tying the game with 1:03 remaining in the period.

But Lindenwood was not fazed, as smiles and high-fives surfaced on the ice as the second period came to a close. The Lady Lions were in an ideal position to earn their second victory of the season.

“There was no feeling of momentum on our side,” Roach said. “Lindenwood still had the momentum on their side of the puck and we didn’t take our chances of capitalizing coming into the third period.”

Lindenwood capitalized on the biggest opportunity of the game within the closing seconds of the final period. After Syracuse forward Jessica Sibley committed a penalty with 34 seconds remaining, the Lions were given a five-on-four opportunity in the final seconds of regulation.

Twenty-eight seconds into the power-play, Lindenwood’s Katie Erickson launched from the point with ease as she watched the puck sail past Jenesica Drinkwater for the game-winning goal.

Drinkwater, who was dealt her first loss of the season, lost the puck in her tracks.

“I kind of lost sight of it quickly and it cost me,” she said. “Those couple seconds were really key into going into overtime.”

She did not provide any excuses for the team’s effort overall against Lindenwood, though.

“They didn’t stop working all game,” she said of the visitors. “They were putting everything they could on net so I’m going to give them kudos.”

Despite entering the game with one victory on the season, Lindenwood proved to Syracuse that its record is not an indication of how much effort they give on the ice.

Roach acknowledged that her team underestimated the Lady Lions.

“I feel that mentally we didn’t prepare ourselves for how hard of a working team they are,” she said.

On Saturday, though, Syracuse responded with a dominant win.

Senior Margot Scharfe started the offensive production for the Orange with a goal 11 minutes into the first period with her team shorthanded. Sibley added a power-play goal less than five minutes into the second period, giving Syracuse a two-goal lead that was never relinquished.

Forward Nicole Ferrara added a goal that extended the lead to 3-1 in the third period, followed by an empty-net goal by forward Melissa Piacentini in the final seconds of the game.

Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan was pleased with his team’s effort this time around.

“Our mental preparation was a lot better,” Flanagan said. “They outworked us at times (on Friday) and we just didn’t execute. Today, I thought we outworked them. We had to set the tone with our work ethic.”

Flanagan believes that the first half of the season had some missed opportunities, but there is plenty of time to make the necessary improvements for a playoff push.

“It’s comforting that we are back to .500”, he said. “I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves as a team. They understand what we have to do to be successful.

“Regardless of our record, I know we are capable of beating anybody.”

Published on December 8, 2013 at 2:44 pm