After Syracuse lost its first game of the season, 2-1, to then-No. 16 Wake Forest in overtime, players and head coach Ange Bradley repeated the same one word: “clinical.”

The Orange had more shots on goal than the Demon Deacons, five to four, but only one goal to show for it.

“We just weren’t clinical in our finishing,” senior back Lies Lagerweij said after the loss.

In the past five games, all against ranked opponents, No. 9 Syracuse (9-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) has scored nine goals on 53 shots. Take away the Orange’s 4-0 beatdown of Rutgers during that stretch, and SU has scored on just 12.5 percent of shots while its opponents convert on 21.9 percent of shots. This imbalance in offensive efficiency has contributed to a 2-3 record.

“The way our offense moves,” Bradley said, “if people are in their areas and make adjustments, it shouldn’t matter who’s there.”

The offense has struggled with these issues all season. Until recently, it’s possible the quality of opponent and SU’s strong defensive showings have masked its offensive inability. But now, in the middle of a stretch of nine-straight ranked opponents, Syracuse’s defense alone cannot save the Orange in tight contests. To beat the country’s top teams, the offense needs to score more than one goal, like it has in two of SU’s three ACC losses.

The defense isn’t free of responsibility for Syracuse’s struggles to find the back of the net. The back line, specifically All-Americans Roos Weers and Lagerweij, are the usual shooters whenever the Orange has a penalty corner.

“I hope it’s one of the ways that we can score,” Bradley said of the set pieces.

On the season, SU has netted seven penalty corners on 71 attempts. Even when the Orange lined up to take 15 penalty corners on August 28 against UC Davis, it still couldn’t find the back of the net.

Penalty corners are also one of the few facets where Syracuse has shown glimpses of success, like on the very first corner of the season, a Lagerweij goal. But in between the flashes has been nothing but offensive drear.

“I don’t know (why),” Bradley said in September about SU’s struggles to convert on penalty corners. “Got to ask Roos and Lies and our inserters and stoppers.”

While Syracuse has been trying to solve questions on offense, its opponents have capitalized on mistakes.

On Sept. 23 against then-No. 7 North Carolina, Syracuse tied the Tar Heels to force overtime after a second half where SU outshot UNC 13-4. In overtime, Eva van’t Hoog only needed one shot to hand SU another conference loss.

A week earlier, in the same situation against the Demon Deacons, Syracuse whiffed at a chance to score when it mattered most. Laura Hurff and Elaine Carey converged on the arc and Carey fired a shot. Hurff corralled the rebound but couldn’t finish. A minute later, Wake Forest scored. Syracuse was left thinking about the chance it had.

“That needs to be a goal,” Lagerweij said of the missed shot.

Published on October 3, 2017 at 11:25 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham