As Syracuse (10-8-2) began the second half of the season, the Orange added two victories over the weekend against Vermont (8-9-4) in Burlington, Vt., to push its record over the .500 mark

Both offenses were on display in SU’s 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Less than a minute into the first period, left wing Allie LaCombe scored to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead. Vermont responded early in the second period by taking advantage of a power-play opportunity. Right wing Victoria Andreakos tied the game with a goal assisted by Amanda Pelkey and Brittany Zuback.

The Orange responded a few minutes later when Julie Knerr scored off an assist from Brittney Krebs and Jessica Sibley to retake the lead, 2-1.

Halfway through the third period, forward Akane Hosoyamada gave Syracuse a two-score lead with her first goal on the day.

But just as Syracuse could have pulled away with a 3-1 lead, Vermont responded with two consecutive goals in a span of 6:17.

Pelkey added Vermont’s second goal 11 minutes in to cut the lead to one goal. Center Dayna Colang added one at the 17:43 mark to tie the game at 3-3.

But Hosoyamada capitalized on her scoring opportunity in the game’s waning moments. Her goal with eight seconds remaining catapulted the Orange to the victory.

Syracuse returned to the ice Sunday, defeating Vermont 3-2 to complete the weekend sweep.

Ten minutes into the first period, defender Nicole Renault scored a power-play goal to give Syracuse another 1-0 lead.

After a shortage of goals in the first and second periods, Syracuse extended its lead to 2-0 early in the third. Right wing Melissa Piacentini scored an unassisted goal 4:56 into the final period of regulation.

But Vermont responded in a similar fashion to Saturday’s performance by scoring two straight goals to claw back in the game. Sarah Kelly scored seven minutes into the period, and Pelkey added a power-play goal four and a half minutes later to tie the score at 2-2.

Then Syracuse responded with another game-clinching goal. SU defender Larissa Martyniuk added a goal less than two minutes later to give the Orange a lead that would not be relinquished.

Senior goalie Jenesica Drinkwater (6-1) earned two victories on the weekend.

Syracuse will return to the ice Friday at 7 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y., against Rochester Institute of Technology.

compiled by Matt Miselis, staff writer, mjmiselis@syr.edu

Published on January 5, 2014 at 6:43 pm