White’s long shot defeats Orange
The Syracuse women’s soccer team constantly attacked the Binghamton defense last night at Syracuse Soccer Stadium, bombarding the Bearcats with shot after shot.But no matter how many times the Orange possessed the ball deep inside BU territory with excellent scoring chances, SU still found a way to not convert. More than once, Binghamton somehow recovered from being out of position to stop the charging Syracuse offense.It was only a matter of time before Syracuse’s inability to score came back to haunt it. And with 15.7 seconds left in the first half, it did.Binghamton junior Danielle White scored the lone tally with a desperation kick from 30 feet out in the waning seconds before halftime. White’s kick proved the difference as the Bearcats went on to beat Syracuse, 1-0, last night despite being outshot 13-5.’We had a bunch of little chances there and we didn’t finish any of those,’ Syracuse head coach Patrick Farmer said. ‘You get a bunch of chances and you think you’re going to keep getting them. I don’t think we were committed to finishing one because we felt like we were going to get a bunch.’Syracuse (1-2-0) found plenty of scoring opportunities from the opening whistle. The Orange often had a forward alone with BU goalie Kristie Bowers, only to see a poor shot stopped by the goalie or sail wide.Nine minutes into the second half, SU had two forwards in the goal box with the ball after Bowers dove and tipped a shot. Despite the lack of a goalkeeper, the Orange came up empty on the possession. Bowers had nine saves on the night.Seven of the Orange’s starters are either freshmen or sophomores, and youth could have contributed to Syracuse’s ineffectiveness. Farmer yelled at freshman forward Amanda Arcuri from the sideline after Arcuri hesitated slightly when a defender challenged her on a breakaway.’We created a lot of chances, but we didn’t do our part in finishing,’ Arcuri said. ‘It happened in the Fairleigh Dickinson game as well. We’re just not finishing in front of the goal.’Binghamton (2-0-1) stopped Syracuse runs at the goal by challenging the ball carrier and putting a body on other offensive players. Plenty of shoving occurred around the goal, especially on Orange corner kicks.Syracuse had 11 corners last night, more than five times as many as the Bearcats.’We just need to finish, to be more aggressive,’ Syracuse goalie Emily Kowalczyk said. ‘There were lots of opportunities, but we just couldn’t convert.’The Orange was the third consecutive team to be shut out by Binghamton. BU has only scored two goals in three games, yet finds itself with a winning record.Last night was the second time in three games Syracuse failed to score a goal.’One of our goals was to be the best team in New York state, to be undefeated in New York state,’ Farmer said. ‘That just got shot down in the third game of the year. I guess I’ll have to reevaluate that one.’
Published on September 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm