Facing a one-goal deficit in the 53rd minute, Alexis Koval gathered the ball on the left wing and threaded a pass between two Albany defenders, hitting forward Eva Gordon in stride.

Gordon took one touch before unleashing a rocket near the top of the box that sailed above Albany’s diving keeper and into the left side of the goal, tying the score at one.

And in the 84th minute, Koval, again on the left wing, crossed a ball in front of the keeper that met Stephanie Skilton’s lunging foot. The ball flew into the top of the net, giving Syracuse the go-ahead goal.

“Yeah she’s got a little bit more confidence about her,” Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon said of Koval. “I think her role has been more defined, and she’s done a good job in training as well so she understands what’s going on.”

After going scoreless in its last two contests, Syracuse (2-2) scored two second-half goals on Friday en route to a 2-1 victory over Albany (1-3) at SU Soccer Stadium. The goals, each on assists from Koval, came after numerous turnovers, missed opportunities and sloppy passing.

The Orange struggled to successfully work the ball around the field in the first half, oftentimes leading it right to the feet of the Great Danes. But Koval’s second-half services, coming as a result of a change in approach for Syracuse, allowed SU to pull out the victory.

In the 22nd minute, Jackie Firenze’s corner kick was cleared and booted out of bounds, drawing a second corner that sailed high and wide before Albany again hit it out. On the third try, Maddie Iozzi couldn’t get any closer.

“On the attacking end, with that number of corner kicks, it’s great,” Wheddon said. “It means that we’re pressing and we’re causing problems and we’re being dangerous in the attacking third … but you got to get some production out of those corner kicks.”

In the second half, Syracuse came out looking to ride the sideline.

With the game tied at one following Gordon’s goal, Maya Pitts took advantage of one-on-one opportunities, crossing the ball into the box despite no Syracuse player being around to capitalize.

“We’ve really been emphasizing taking our player one vs. one down the line and serving it into the box,” Koval said.

When presented with set pieces and counterattacks in the middle of the field, Syracuse came up empty.

Instead, the Orange found the most success when working its offense from the outside in, where it looked to attack the end line before feeding the ball back into the middle. That’s how Koval helped win the game for the Orange, salvaging a lackluster first half.

“We had a lot of opportunities down the flanks,” goalie Courtney Brosnan said. “I think today we did a better job of mixing it up with some combination play.”

Published on August 30, 2015 at 7:41 pm

Contact Matt: mralex01@syr.edu