STORRS, Conn. — Sprinting across midfield, Clara Roth looked up and saw one defender left: Claire Webb. The preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference back for Syracuse had anchored the Orange backline all year, mentoring freshman Olivia Graham and aiding the transition from four-year starter Roos Weers. 

If anyone was going to stop Roth, it would be Webb. 

Instead, the two-time Ivy League player of the year shifted right-to-left, sending Webb the wrong way. She dashed toward SU’s goalie Sarah Sinck and calmly slotted the ball into the cage. 

“Keep going, keep going,” Roth said of her thoughts during the coast-to-coast goal.“Try to beat everyone with my speed and just try to get the ball past the goalie.”

Webb and Graham couldn’t decipher Roth and Hannah Davey all game as the two combined for four goals. In total, Princeton combined for 12 shots as the Tigers cruised to a 5-1 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

This wasn’t out of the ordinary for SU. All year long, the Orange’s backline had been beaten by opposing forwards. And for most of the year, Sinck was there to make the necessary saves. Eleven against Connecticut. Eight against Duke. Seven against Louisville. Today, Sinck wasn’t there. Roth’s speed and Davey’s craftiness routinely beat Webb as her career at Syracuse ended in a blowout loss.

“With (Davey) on the right, we have a really good balance with Hannah either dribbling and passing it to me or me dribbling,” Roth said. “It just really worked out well today.”

No one expected SU’s backline to stifle opposing offenses entering the season. Replacing Weers was impossible. The 5-foot-10 back was named an All-ACC player four times, including three first team selections. 

But Webb was supposed to play that role this year — the glue that organized the entire team. That’s why she was named to the preseason All-ACC first team. And for part of the season, she played that role well. On Friday, her backline was overpowered. Roth routinely attacked her with her speed, beating her and Graham down the baseline and tossing the ball into the shooting circle. That led to eight penalty corners, three of which ended up as goals. 

“She carries the ball really well,” Davey said of Roth. “I think a lot of the teams know this and teams scout her on that but she still manages to get around the defenders.”

Davey also played an integral role in the attack. When Webb and Graham ran at her and tried to poke the ball away, she used her stick skills to shield the ball, then fired it over to waiting teammates. But it was on penalty corners where Davey shined. In the first half, an insert from Roth was sent to MaryKate Neff who ripped a shot toward Sinck. Davey scooted away from her defender and placed her stick on the turf. Sinck dove right but the ball bounced off Davey’s stick and into the net.

“I try and defend everyone based on how they look on film and just based on my own skill set,” Webb said of her preparation for Roth and Davey. 

Sitting in the Husky Den 10 minutes after allowing the most goals in her college career, Webb blankly stared ahead. She’d arrived at Syracuse in 2016 to a team that had just won the national title. But she only won one NCAA tournament game during her four years.

This was the end of her time playing for SU. Her eyes returned to the table in front of her as she addressed Roth’s performance. 

“She’s obviously a good player, she had two goals, but I mean there’s no sense in looking back on it,” she said.

The blowout loss is Webb’s last memory in a Syracuse uniform. 

Published on November 15, 2019 at 6:47 pm

Contact Adam: adhillma@syr.edu | @_adamhillman