After allowing only one goal combined against then-No. 19 Clemson and then-No. 18 Wake Forest, Syracuse’s defense was playing the best it had all season. Then it wasn’t.

“It exposed us,” Taylor Bennett said. “We’ve never been in that situation before.”

The Orange (5-4-2, 0-2-1 ACC) allowed seven goals to then-No. 5 North Carolina last Saturday after allowing only two scores in the six games prior. Still, the back line was no match for an offensive power like the Tar Heels. The Orange defense was a strong point early on in ACC play, riding its best conference start since 2014 before UNC, and hopes the blowout loss was just a blip.

“It was very deflating, they were just dominant in every aspect,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “We struggled to cope with that.”

The seven goals were equal to the amount Syracuse allowed in the previous nine games combined, dating back to its second game of the season against then-No. 21 Connecticut.

And though Syracuse’s defense has yet to do enough to single-handedly grab a win, it has held its own against ranked opponents this year. Still scoreless in conference play, one of the Orange’s strongest performances this season came against Clemson, holding the Tigers to just five shots on goal.

In the drubbing to UNC, Wheddon said, all the Tar Heels goals, even those given up by SU’s backup goalkeeper, Lysianne Proulx, were quality finishes that SU couldn’t get to quick enough.

“They scored three headers,” Wheddon said. “When you give players of that caliber that time and space, that’s what happens.”

A disparity in shots against UNC put the Orange in a position it hadn’t been in previous ACC games (26-8, 18-4 on goal). Senior goalie Courtney Brosnan, who is still posting a career high in save percentage, was forced to make a season-high 11 saves, just four short of her career record.

The North Carolina team the Orange faced on Saturday is the best Tar Heels team Brosnan has ever seen, she said. Brosnan faced relentless pressure in the game, with UNC overloading the back end of the Syracuse defense.

“It’s tough when you’re facing pressure for 90 minutes,” Brosnan said.

Bennett doesn’t think that the Orange should take away too many negatives from the game. After the loss, she still remains hopeful and thinks that, despite the lopsided affair, SU should be able to compete with a team the caliber of North Carolina.

The performance at North Carolina, Wheddon said, doesn’t define Syracuse as a team. He mentioned that teams around the ACC, notably Clemson and Wake Forest, “speak very highly” of the Orange.

“They know what we are capable of,” Wheddon said.

Syracuse just has to show it.

Published on October 4, 2017 at 9:42 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary