The best word Syracuse field hockey coach Kathleen Parker could think of to describe Brittany Carriero was simply a ‘nag.’

While it may have been a puzzling description for a coach to speak, you really can’t question it after Wednesday night’s performance.

The 5-foot-2 junior may lack size, but she easily makes up for it with her speed and tenacity on the field as evidence by the havoc she created for Albany on Wednesday.

Carriero scored once and set up two other goals during Syracuse’s 8-1 rout of the Great Danes.

‘She’s just a nag,’ Parker said after the game. ‘When the other team has the ball, she’s a nag. She’s all over the place. And when she’s playing like that, she’s tough.’

Carriero utilized her speed to break loose from the Albany defense and fired a shot past Marisa Maze 16 minutes into the game. She registered three shots Wednesday.

‘It was more of a fast break,’ Carriero said. ‘I don’t think when I score – it just happens, I guess. It was a good feeling to get it done, but we went with it and kept scoring more.’

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Carriero fired a shot that ricocheted to Lindsay Peirson who put the ball in cage. The goal illustrated a key element of the Orangewomen’s success: rebounds.

‘We got good rebounding there,’ Carriero said. ‘We’ve been practicing that and it worked out well in the game.’

Late in the second half, Carriero set up the final goal when she was awarded a penalty corner. After taking the corner, Carriero put a stick on the loose ball. It bounced around the front of the cage until it was fired in by freshman Ashley Fry.

‘Brittany can be very, very tenacious on the field,’ Parker said. ‘She can be a real pain to the other team. She’s quick and she can be very explosive.’

What made the effort by Carriero even more impressive was that it all came as a substitute. Parker said that Carriero could likely be a starter, but she likes the roll she plays off the bench.

‘The energy she brings to the field when she comes in off the bench picks the team up,’ Parker said. ‘I see her more of a catalyst to the team coming off the bench than just being there from the beginning.’

Published on September 10, 2003 at 12:00 pm