Tears dripped down Laura Graziosi’s cheek as she slowly walked away from Marsha Dodson Field in Ithaca. As she covered her face, teammates draped their arms around her shoulders and tried to comfort her.

It was justifiable to be emotional. The Orange had made 10 straight NCAA tournaments from 2008 to 2017, missing it in 2018. After the 2-1 loss to a Cornell team that won five games in 2018, it appeared that Syracuse was in for a second-straight disappointing season just four years after winning the national title.

Senior Claire Webb had seen SU lose its final three regular season games and miss the tournament by one spot in 2018. Webb, who missed the match against the Big Red, couldn’t avoid the inevitable — losing to Cornell was a failure.

“It was a negative experience,” Webb said postgame Sept. 7. “We can learn a lot, we can grow. It happened early in the season, which can serve as a turning point.”

That loss to then-unranked Cornell did just that, propelling the Orange to five wins in seven games, their only losses coming to then-No. 5 Virginia and No. 16 Stanford in overtime. With Webb’s return as a calming influence in the back, the Orange have scored 2.29 goals per game since that loss, including eight from star freshman Charlotte de Vries. Playing perhaps its best field hockey of year and on track to return to the NCAA tournament, No. 14 Syracuse (8-3,1-1 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 1 UNC (10-0, 3-0) at J.S. Coyne Stadium on Saturday.

“The loss to Cornell showed us that we can’t underestimate anyone,” freshman Olivia Graham said. “Each game, we have to come with the same attitude, mentality, and belief that we can win.”

On that hour-long bus ride back from Ithaca, there was no group conversation, no player stepping up and yelling at others that they needed to improve, junior Claire Cooke said. Instead, it was a series of smaller chats amongst groups of players. 

SU arrived at Manley Field House and came to a consensus: It needed to play like it did in the second half when it outshot the Big Red by 10. Against Cornell, SU just couldn’t capitalize on prime chances to come back from a 2-0 deficit.

So that following week in practice, SU worked on penalty corner execution and offensive rushes against goalies Syd Taylor and Sarah Sinck. de Vries had scored half the team’s goals, including the only one against Cornell, and SU knew it needed to pick up the pace beside her.

But its struggles extended beyond the offense. The Orange had allowed two or more goals in three of the first four games, including three to Vermont in the season opener and two first-half goals to Lafayette.

The backline at that point was mostly freshmen. Graham has started every game, and she was often flanked by Marie Sommer, Hailey Bitters and other less experienced backs. Passes from the back were often disconnected, missing the sticks of midfielders or rolling out of bounds. Opposing attackers found creases past the backs and toward the cage.

“Before, we kind of rotated between some underclassmen in the back,” Webb said of the games before her return, “I think experience is something that you can’t really teach, even just knowing how to play together.”

Webb, who had appeared in every game of her SU career before the hand injury, returned to practice the week after the Cornell game. When backs and midfielders felt tense, mis-trapped balls, fired errant passes, or were caught out of position, Webb relaxed her teammates. Whether it was a light pat on the back, a “you got this,” or just simply making eye contact, she became the leader that the Orange lacked.

To Cooke, it’s not the words Webb says, but “the tone of her voice.” Webb’s composure instills confidence in Cooke that she’ll make the right decision next time around.

“We got Claire Webb back and that’s a big help, solidifying a lot of calm and composure in the backfield and maturity,” head coach Ange Bradley said of the Orange’s improvement.

Against Duke, the Orange were outshot by 12 in the first half and were on the brink of being blown out. But Webb ensured that Syracuse stuck to Bradley’s words.

She reminded them of the game plan: A tough and in-their-face defense against the Blue Devils that would put the opposing backs under pressure. That press, in the second overtime, forced a Blue Devil pass onto the stick of de Vries near the shooting circle. The freshman routinely slotted the ball into the cage, giving SU a 2-1, signature win over the then-No. 2 team in the nation.

A few days after beating Duke, Webb stood with her back to J.S. Coyne Stadium. Her hair pinned back on a cloudy day, she remembered back to sitting on the sideline during the Cornell game – coaching, fetching balls when they went out of bounds and encouraging teammates.

Webb paused as she looked down at the rocks on the road.

“We’ve come a long way since then,” Webb continued, “But we still have more to go.”

Published on October 9, 2019 at 9:39 pm

Contact Adam: adhillma@syr.edu | @_adamhillman