Roos Weers screamed toward the sideline for a ball to be rolled in.

“Ball, ball, ball,” Weers shouted, along with other SU players.

As the Orange forwards sprinted ahead to take advantage of the numbers edge, Weers needed a ball after it went out of play. Syracuse had a golden opportunity for a counter attack, moments after defending the Connecticut penalty corner.

It took seven seconds for a ball to be given to Weers. She played the long pass ahead to Kira Wimbert, but by then, the chance was gone. In those seven seconds, Connecticut’s defenders sprinted back into position and easily diffused the counter-attack.

Weers turned back again to the sideline, angrily shouting, “Pay attention,” to the ballperson on the sideline.

What could have been Syracuse’s best chance in the opening half instead turned into an eventual turnover, a costly missed opportunity. SU couldn’t finish, in contrast to UConn. The Huskies mustered four shots on goal, scoring three, leading to No. 10 Syracuse (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) dropping its second game in three days, 3-0, to No. 1 Connecticut (6-0).

The Orange spent large parts of the match on the front foot, attacking the stout Huskies defense. Despite the pressure and possession, SU had throughout the match, it repeatedly failed to generate clear chances.

“Statistically we were dead even,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said. “I thought the game was closer than the score indicated. ”

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For the amount of time the Orange spent attacking, they created just one shot in the opening half, a Weers attempt from a corner that was comfortably saved after deflecting into the chest of goalie Cheyenne Sprecher.

When Connecticut got its chance, a penalty corner 14 minutes into the game, the Huskies made the Orange pay. Syracuse failed to clear the ball after the first shot attempt was blocked, and UConn’s Jessica Dembrowski poked the ball into the net. Weers immediately challenged, but the video referral deemed it a good goal.

Six minutes into the second half, SU’s Sasha Bull went to hit the ball back into play after an out of bounds. She misplayed the pass, and it was intercepted. Less than 10 seconds later, the ball was in the net, off the stick of Cecile Pieper. Pieper was gifted a wide open shot from inside the circle, and she backhanded it into the corner to double the lead.

Yet when SU freshman SJ Quigley forced a turnover deep in the Huskies’ half, her open shot attempt was saved from the stick of the diving Sprecher. It was another missed opportunity on a day full of them.

Syracuse had its most dominant period of the match midway through the second half, right before and after a yellow card was given to UConn’s Karo Kueskes. The Orange couldn’t find a goal. In 10 minutes, five of which came with a player advantage, SU created five shots, three on goal, all saved.

“I do think we deserve more than 3-0,” Weers said. “I think we controlled them, we had the upper hand and we just didn’t finish.”

Prior to Quigley’s chance, Weers had an opportunity to finish directly off of a corner, but she had her attempt stopped by Sprecher’s outstretched right leg. Even as Bradley yelled “pressure, pressure,” from the SU sideline, the Orange frequently saw attacks break down in the final third.

When Connecticut earned another corner in the final minute, the Huskies again punished SU to seal the win. Svea Boker grabbed the rebound out of a scramble, after Weers was unable to clear. Within a second of the ball crossing the line, SU’s Jamie Martin ripped her facemask off and threw it 20 feet away from the goal.

Martin’s frustrations carried over from the offensive end, when she found herself a few feet from the goal, with the ball falling right to her stick late in the second period. Her attempt was deflected inches wide.

“The shots aren’t there yet,” sophomore Chiara Gutsche said. “I think it’s something we have to work on.”

A quick glance at the stat sheet would make this game appear even, Bradley said. Both teams had the same number of shots on goal and possession was square. Yet Sunday, Connecticut’s ruthless finishing proved why it’s the number one team in the nation and hasn’t lost since 2016.

“We need to practice on our own and shoot and get better,” Weers said. “There’s a lot to do, but it’s good that we found that out now.”

Published on September 9, 2018 at 5:44 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo