STORRS, Conn. — Twenty days, four weeks, 298 minutes of game time.

That’s how long SU’s leading scorer Charlotte de Vries has gone without scoring a goal. She last found the back of the cage on Oct. 25 against Wake Forest, four games ago. 

And after Princeton’s commanding 5-1 win at the George J. Serman Family-Sports Complex, that streak will continue through the offseason, a scoreless end to a successful rookie campaign.

“For a freshman to lead our team in scoring and be one of the top in our league is pretty impressive,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said. “As you start to bring those numbers in, you start to draw attention.” 

Goals in wins over No. 2 Duke, No. 14 Saint Joseph’s and No. 20 Wake Forest helped SU earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. de Vries’ 15 scores — three shy of the the program record for a freshman — paced the No. 13 Orange (12-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast). No other player scored more than four. The freshman scored in 11 of Syracuse’s 20 games and netted six of the team’s first 11 goals of the year, but her production tailed off down the final stretch of SU’s season. But in Friday’s 5-1 first round loss to No. 9 Princeton (14-4, 7-0 Ivy League) — like she had for the previous three games before it — de Vries came up empty. 

“She’s going to continue to grow and learn,” Bradley said, “and I thought she played a solid game today. She got on the ball, created a lot, just didn’t fall for her.” 

de Vries, a former top-10 recruit out of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, was not made available at the postgame press conference. 

Princeton opened the game with a high-pressing defensive strategy, immediately double-teaming Syracuse defenders in their own end. SU struggled to develop possessions and get the ball to de Vries and other forwards in scoring situations. 

Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente said to limit de Vries, it started with the press to disrupt SU’s offense as a whole. The Tigers didn’t face-guard de Vries like several other teams have, but often swarmed her when she carried the ball in the attacking zone.

In the first quarter, de Vries stole a Princeton pass by midfield and dribbled the ball down the left side, but two Tiger defenders cut her off. The forward lost it and came up limping, favoring her left leg. She remained in the game. 

As de Vries played through pain, Princeton’s pressure got to Syracuse’s backline. With less than two minutes left in the first, the Tigers earned a penalty corner as Claire Cooke sent a clear out the back of SU’s endline in panic. Princeton’s Hannah Davey converted. 

A breakaway goal from Clara Roth and three more Princeton scores in the third quarter put Princeton up 5-0. de Vries continued to look for her shot. 

On a rush in the second quarter, de Vries split two defenders and sent a long hit across the shooting circle, but a Princeton defender knocked her pass out of danger. At one point in the third quarter, de Vries cut across the 25-yard line, but three Princeton defenders converged on her. She earned a restart, and SU later got a penalty corner chance on that possession. de Vries’ direct shot on that penalty corner would get deflected up and over the crossbar. 

“She was pretty dangerous on some self-starts and some restarts in their attack 25, when she was on the ball,” Tagliente said. “I think she’s a special player, but like I said you either have that nose for the goal or you don’t.”

Syracuse often ran corner plays for de Vries, but no misdirection could free de Vries for her signature reverse hit, until late in the third quarter. With eight seconds left, SJ Quigley inserted a penalty corner pass and de Vries launched a shot high and past Princeton’s keeper into the cage as the buzzer sounded. But the referee didn’t signal a goal. The shot was ruled too high. In disbelief, de Vries sprinted to the official, motioning her hands to draw a rectangle to ask for a video review. The play was confirmed, and de Vries’ scoring drought carried on. 

In all, Princeton out-shot the Orange 12 to seven. A Claire Cooke goal late in the third didn’t inspire a comeback. de Vries led SU with four shots, three of which were on target. 

“Charlotte’s a great player and she scores a lot of goals,” senior center back Claire Webb said, “but there’s nine other people on the field who can also contribute. We play as a team.” 

After the final buzzer sounded and signaled the end of Syracuse’s season, the team huddled around Webb outside its shooting circle. Bradley said she remembers de Vries’ voice after the game.

“We’re going to be back,” Bradley remembers de Vries said. “I am going to find a way to win.’ 

Published on November 15, 2019 at 6:50 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman