It was a 2-2 game with about four minutes to play when North Carolina lined up to attempt a penalty corner. A bounce sent the UNC insertion rolling away from Tar Heel Emily Wold at the top of the circle and the Syracuse defense seized the chance.

On the counter-attack, midfielder Alyssa Manley advanced the ball quickly up the field on a run to forward Emma Lamison, who dished to forward Emma Russell. Russell corralled the ball and sent the ball flying.

Russell’s goal was the game-winner in an eventual 4-2 win over then-No. 2 North Carolina. But as important as Russell’s finish was, she couldn’t have taken the shot had it not been for the midfield.

“UNC was one of our best (midfield) games,” midfielder Laura Hurff said. “We moved the ball up the field so well, just outside-inside-outside…So smooth.”

Even when Syracuse has struggled to score this season, the midfield has controlled possession and limited opponent’s opportunities. In eight of 13 games this season, SU has allowed four or fewer shots on goal. In many of its home games, the ball doesn’t spend much time in the defensive zone, controlled by the midfield and forwards.

Still, the midfield can become more consistent, head coach Ange Bradley said, as SU heads into “the toughest weekend” prior to Atlantic Coast Conference playoffs. No. 1 Syracuse (13-0, 4-0 ACC) hosts No. 7 Wake Forest (10-3, 3-1) on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. and No. 19 Princeton the following day at 3 p.m. at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

“Our linkup is (the midfield’s) best asset,” Hurff said. “…When we linkup correctly, we have so much room behind the defense for our forwards to take it and they’ve capitalized well (this season).”

The “linkup” is Syracuse’s system for moving the ball up the field from backs to forwards with the midfield serving as the link between.

The system relies on quick passing, Hurff said. When the Syracuse backs gain possession in the defensive third, they look for an outlet on the outside back line. Then they look to advance to a midfielder playing near a sideline, who gives it up to a midfielder on the inside. Once the inside midfielder has it, she can either shoot the gap by running through the defense or give it up and pass inside to a forward making a run on the goal.

Or, if the defense collapses on the ball, as teams have done recently to Syracuse, Hurff said, the midfield can pass the ball behind to the backs, who can reverse it. Or the midfield can attack the collapsed defense anyway.

“We’re practicing in small spaces with high numbers of people,” midfielder Alyssa Manley said. “…We’re working on tighter skills and drawing fouls. Last season, we had faster girls to run. Now it’s staying calm and not getting frustrated with the lack of…space we’re given.”

One of the keys for the midfield this season has been the communication because it’s a young unit, Hurff said. The midfield is comprised of sophomores Erin Gillingham and Hurff, junior Serra Degnan and Manley, a senior. Manley, a United Sates Senior National Team member in the Pan-Am Games as the only college athlete on the roster, is someone Hurff goes to for advice sometimes even before coaches.

The two discussing where to setup to make out-letting easier for backs, how to effectively press an offense and generally facilitate between the offense and defense. On Sept. 16, Hurff called the midfield the “backbone” of the team.

This weekend, as the Orange challenge two highly ranked teams, Bradley wants to see growth in her midfield.

“(The midfield) is focusing on going forward fast and going forward when we can,” Hurff said. “We know if we play our best (then) we’ll beat whoever we face.”

Staff Writer Liam Sullivan contributed reporting to this story.

Published on October 14, 2015 at 11:30 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR