What Alex Lamontagne has can’t be coached.

In the constant movement of soccer, an extra burst of unmatched speed is highly valued by coaches. It’s why Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon is excited by the freshman forward and what she’s brought to the team so far this season.

“You can teach the technical part of the game, but her speed, that’s what separates her from other players,” Wheddon said. “She’s certainly been very, very dangerous because of it.”

Lamontagne’s speed often puts her in one-on-one situations, but she’s still refining her split-second decision-making skills. Sometimes she takes too many touches and gets closed down by defenders instead of releasing the ball to a teammate sooner, Wheddon said. It’s those finer, technical points that she’ll be looking to sharpen when the Orange (3-4-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) faces Miami (2-7, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Florida.

While she’s recorded three goals and an assist this season, the continued learning and improvement will have to happen in a trial by fire of sorts as SU gets into the second half of its schedule.

Lamontagne has started eight games and played in all 10, but with the team’s last nine regular-season games coming against the ACC — largely regarded as the best conference in women’s college soccer — Syracuse will need its second-leading scorer on the field producing and getting better.

“My teammates have been pushing me a lot in practice and games,” said Lamontagne. “They want me to be the best I can be.”

Lamontagne said her teammates often pull her aside in both practices and games in order to help her learn — especially about decisions where she has to quickly either pass or shoot. She credits a lot of the success she’s enjoyed so far this year as a freshman to her teammates and their level of communication on and off the field.
In the team’s last game, a 3-1 loss to Cincinnati, Lamontagne started at outside midfielder. Her responsibilities included covering the entire right side of the field, helping track down players defensively while still creating and making runs forward on offense.

“My style of play is technical,” Lamontagne said. “I try to use my speed to get past some defenders, be aggressive and use my body to push into the ball.”

If the Orange is going to reach the ACC tournament this season, the team is likely to need more production and finishing. And Syracuse may look to Lamontagne, whose average of two shots per game is third-best on the team.

“She’s definitely exceeded expectations since getting here,” sophomore defender Maddie Iozzi said. “There’s always room for improvement though and I feel like she’ll get a lot stronger throughout the year.”

Published on September 25, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu