Down three with 10 minutes left against Notre Dame, Syracuse was about to lose its first game against an opponent ranked lower than it. In the first half, the Orange couldn’t get good shots off up close and when they neared the crease, turnovers ensued.

Then, fouls started to rack up. But in Syracuse’s favor. SU was awarded a free-position shot with under eight minutes left. A minute-and-a-half later, another, then another one. The Orange capitalized on all three, tying the game against the then-No. 12 team in the nation.

SU’s ability to capitalize on free-position opportunities, both directly off the shot or off passes, has helped No. 3 Syracuse (13-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) to its highest ranking since 2016. The Orange average almost 2.5 free-position goals per game, balancing an offense that averages 14.73 goals per game. Against Notre Dame, the free position saved the Orange from a Fighting Irish upset. Against Albany three days later, it helped SU run up the score.

“Any time anyone on our team draws those fouls and gets the free-position shot that’s obviously huge,” freshman Meaghan Tyrrell said. “It’s another shooting opportunity we might not have gotten if the clock kept going.”

The free-position shot is usually awarded when a penalty occurs inside the arc. Often, it comes off a shooting space penalty or when an illegal hit happens. A player lines up on the 12-meter fan or the 8-meter arc — depending on where the penalty happened — and when the whistle blows, the play starts. For some players and situations, that means firing toward the net. For others, it leads to passes for an assist.

The ball doesn’t always go in, though — Syracuse has made just 42.5% of its free-position shots this season, good for 40th in the nation. If it’s not saved by the goalie, it leads to an extension on the play or another possession off a miss.

“Our stats would be a lot better on the free position offensively,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “But as soon as you make a pass, they don’t count it as a free position. We’ve scored a lot of our goals on passes.”

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In the final 10 minutes against Notre Dame, the second free-position shot started with Emily Hawryschuk firing the ball, but it went wide. Cara Quimby scooped up her miss and hit nylon seconds later.

Against Albany three days later, the Great Danes goalie was able to get her stick on the ball, blocking it and sending it past the goal line. Tyrrell ran toward the line with her stick outstretched, and as the closest to the ball when it exited play, the Orange maintained possession, eventually ending in a Julie Cross top-shelf goal.

The free-position shot not only provides teams with a free lane to score but can also help reset the shot clock. If it’s winding down, and players are struggling to get a shot off but then are awarded a free position, the shot clock resets.

Tyrrell said that when someone else on the team is taking the shot, the rest of the team is preparing for the shooter to either pass or miss.

“We try to think about how we can be there for the pass if the person doesn’t have the shot or, as an attacker, standing behind the cage and getting backup,” she said.

Everyone has their own style when it’s awarded. Some, like Sam Swart, run toward the goal and shoot almost always. Others like Nicole Levy and Hawryschuk prefer to take one step and fire it from deep or pass for an assist.

When Hawryschuk lines up, Levy said she’s going to rip the ball — it’s something goalies are starting to expect. Syracuse’s leader in goals this season, Hawryschuk is 7-for-18 in her free-position shots, leading the team in both attempts and made.

“It is an expectation,” Hawryschuk said of her shooting off the free position. “But at the same time, I’m trying to elevate my game.”

She calls the free position “a game against myself,” focusing less on the goal and more on what she’s going to do. When she squares up against the goalie, she looks for the holes in the goalie’s protection of the cage. That’s where she plans to fire it, confident the ball will go where she wants it.

After two straight free-position shots at the end of the Notre Dame game, it was Hawryschuk who was awarded the third and final. Down by one, she wound her stick back. When the whistle blew, Hawryschuk shifted her weight and the ball darted to the back of the net. Hawryschuk’s free-position goal helped avoid an upset.

Published on April 9, 2019 at 10:50 pm

Contact Kaci: klwasile@syr.edu