While greeting the media after Tuesday night’s game against Colgate, Shannon Taylor was surprised when she found out that her performance wasn’t just good, it was record-breaking.

The senior captain tallied nine points off four goals and an assist, breaking the record for most points in a single game by a Syracuse player during No. 18 Syracuse’s 12-0 thrashing of the Raiders at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

‘I actually didn’t know that until you just told me,’ Taylor said with a smile. ‘But it feels great.’

Taylor, who also tied the record for most goals in a game by a Syracuse player, opened up the scoring for the Orange just five minutes into the game, finishing off a well-placed cross by forward Lindsey Conrad to put SU up 1-0.

The midfielder added goals in the 23rd, 56th and 59th minutes to seal her place in the SU record books.

‘Shannon’s just great,’ said SU head coach Ange Bradley. ‘She holds spaces well, she’s a great distributor, and she has the gift to finish.’

Not surprisingly, in a game that saw twelve goals scored by the Orange, Taylor’s wasn’t the only record-breaking performance.

The Orange broke a 23-year-old record for goals in a game, beating the former record of 10 set back in 1985 in a victory over Rider.

The four goals were Taylor’s first tallies for Syracuse. Taylor is in her first season at Syracuse after transferring from Richmond. She now sits tied atop the team leader board for goals with freshman midfielder Martina Loncarica.

The two midfielders are leaders in one of the Big East’s most potent and aggressive offenses so far this season.

Tuesday, they played part in an onslaught of Colgate goalies, Sarah Pedersen and Kirsten Lalli, as SU fired off 49 shots throughout the game – compared to just two for the Raiders.

‘It’s our system,’ Bradley said. ‘It’s the way we set people up that makes our offense run, and I’m really pleased with what were doing. Like I said, we’re moving the ball and opening up the field.’

Mariana Vernet, who scored the record-breaking 11th goal, said the way in which the team won felt good after a long week of practice. That week included a workout yesterday, despite being only one day removed from an upset victory over No. 8 Old Dominion on Sunday.

‘It feels good,’ Vernet said. ‘We’ve been practicing all week, and we did what we wanted to do.’

Vernet, a freshman back, added two more goals, giving her three on the season.

Although they are just two games into the season, Bradley is starting to take notice of her team’s growth in the midst of her second season.

‘Tactically and technically, we are a better team (than last year),’ Bradley said. ‘We’re definitely a much better team, but we wouldn’t have been able to be where we are without the work of last year’s team. That team set standards for to us and rewrite our history. And fortunately we did that several times tonight.’

The Orange emerged from halftime with a 6-0 lead, keeping its foot on the accelerator against a worn Colgate squad.

Syracuse kept the Raiders stretched out with a constant stream of steady passing around the 18, allowing Nicole Nelson, a substitute forward, to sneak behind the defense and bury a slapshot from 14 yards out five minutes into the second half.

Afterward, the rout was on as the Orange continued to dominate possession in the second half and create scoring opportunities.

The midfield, anchored by Taylor, Loncarica and sophomore Lena Voelmle, could be a major part of the team’s rapid growth. Combined, the unit is responsible for 23 points off nine goals this season.

Perhaps more importantly, though, the unit is playing stellar defense.

While working in Bradley’s patented diamond formation, Syracuse has only surrendered four total shots on goal this season, leading to two consecutive shutouts. That ties the amount of shutouts the Orange had all of last season.

Bradley won’t let her team dwell on the recent success for too long with a road trip to Central Michigan looming on Thursday.

When asked how much longer she would let her team celebrate the victory, the coach looked at her watch, grinned and shook her head.

‘They’ve got about a half hour left,’ Bradley said. ‘We have to keep moving forward … you have to keep working until the end so you can play for a championship.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on September 2, 2008 at 12:00 pm