Syracuse needed offense. Up one, and having not recording a shot for more than 20 minutes, Kate Hostage came down the field and fired a quick shot high over the net. Harvard was threatening to pull even in a Sept. 10 game at SU soccer stadium. In the next minute, Sydney Brackett fired another one, and then another one, high over the net from the left side of the field.

“You don’t score if you don’t shoot,” Brackett said. “You have to have a short memory, you’re going to get another chance.”

Though none of the three shots scored, SU’s pressure held off the Crimson. The shots were No. 11, 12, and 13 respectively for Syracuse (5-2-1) that day. In all five of the Orange’s wins, SU has surpassed the 12-shot mark. In its two losses, it has fell below that mark. It has averaged 13 shots per game this season, almost two more than last.

“We got more numbers in the attack,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “The hope is, in using our system, we generate more shots, more goals, more opportunities.”

The outcomes of some of Syracuse’s tougher games on its schedule have been products of the number of shots it puts up. The Orange beat Harvard, 1-0, when it attempted 13 shots. Against Florida, Syracuse managed only six shots. After tying the game in the 24th minute, SU did not generate enough offense to respond to Florida’s next attack, falling, 2-1.

Wheddon mentioned the team’s shot numbers have been higher based on the competition it has faced in the nonconference schedule. But he intimated that shots don’t necessarily tell the whole story. To provide context for what Syracuse should expect in its ACC schedule, he referenced a game between North Carolina State and Virginia, where the Cavaliers outshot the Wolfpack 20-to-5, but the teams finished tied without a goal.

Wheddon referenced “personnel” multiple times as a reason for why the offense has been so effective this year, saying there is not one designated goal-scorer so far.

“We have multiple attacking threats,” Wheddon said after the game against Harvard. “We’re more sophisticated in our final third.”

After a game at Harvard, in which Syracuse’s only offense came from a Crimson own goal, the Orange knows more shots could produce more goals. Kate Hostage, who was standing closest for the Harvard goal, said she believes the goal was forced because of pressure on the opposing goalkeeper to make a clearance in a tight space.

Though the increased offense has been a key, Brackett said she doesn’t feel fixating on a number is not the best way to play smart.

“I’m not going to rely on a number,” Brackett said. “On the day (of a game), I show up and take as many shots as I can.”

Syracuse now enters its toughest stretch of the season. Six of its final 10 opponents are ranked among the top 25 teams nationally, the part of the schedule that Wheddon alluded to about competition in the non-conference slate.

While the shots may waver, Brackett said SU will continue its attacking style with the ball as competition increases.

“Based on the nature of the game there’s no need to hold the ball,” Brackett said. “We’re an attacking-mentality team.”

Published on September 21, 2017 at 12:13 am

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary