Syracuse was immobilized for the first eight minutes of play. Fresh off its first NCAA semifinal appearance in school history, the Orange women’s lacrosse team allowed Team USA to score eight goals in its first eight possessions of Saturday’s exhibition contest.

Team USA’s goals went unanswered by Syracuse until the ninth minute of play, when the Orange finally got on the scoreboard. The sluggish start doomed Syracuse, which eventually lost 18-10, in the Third Annual Stars and Stripes LaxFest at the Carrier Dome. The exhibition game was part of a two-day tournament featuring a collection of collegiate and international teams.

LaxFest had an ironic flair for Syracuse. Its three leading scorers from last season – Katie Rowan, Halley Quillinan and Christina Dove – faced a conflict of interest against Team USA. The trio’s names appeared on both rosters for the games. Earlier in the day, the trio wore red, white and blue in two morning contests of LaxFest. But in the main event between Syracuse and Team USA at the Carrier Dome Saturday in front of 846 spectators, all three opted to suit up in orange.

They had to play against their USA teammates, who were noticeably more aggressive in the first half. Rowan scored three goals and tallied two assists for Syracuse, but it was too late.

The team on the field during the first eight minutes of play did not look like the team that only five months ago went 18-3 and made the women’s lacrosse final four. A late Orange rally couldn’t compensate for Team USA’s first-half scoring run.

‘It was a great opportunity to play a great team,’ SU head coach Gary Gait said. ‘This game was about handling the pressure, we responded well from being down seven nothing and then attempting to come back.’

Syracuse’s scoring drought finally ended in the ninth minute of play when midfielder Sarah Sedgwick, a junior transfer from Boston College, scored SU’s first goal. Despite the first-half mishap, scoring 10 goals against the national team is a rare feat. With the exception of 1986 and 2005, Team USA has won every women’s lacrosse World Cup. And in its five World Cup championship wins, the U.S. has never allowed double-digit goals.

‘Syracuse scored way too many points,’ Team USA head coach Sue Heether said. ‘They are young, that’s great for them. Their draw controls were equal with ours and I was shocked with how they rebounded.’

Midfielder Lindsey Connell and attack Katie Rowan were Syracuse’s biggest threats, scoring three goals apiece. But neither connected until the second half – well after the outcome was decided. SU went on a 5-1 run in the second half to close the gap to 16-10.

‘Team USA should be dominating college teams,’ said Gait, who is in his second year as SU head coach. ‘We put up a good fight, though, and overall I was pleased.’

Gait emphasized passing during the second half to help Syracuse recover from the deficit. Megan Mosenson and Rowan assisted Connell on two of her three goals.

‘We kept trying to look down the field and give each other progressive, quick passes,’ said Connell, a sophomore. ‘Once we started passing better the game came back to us.’ SU goalie Liz Hogan helped the Syracuse defense rebound, making a series of saves on several Team USA possessions. Hogan’s saves helped slow down the U.S., but the national squad kept attacking all day.

Both the Orange and the U.S. were on their third games of the day by the time they played at the Dome. Earlier in the day, the U.S. took on Vermont and Haudenosaunee. Syracuse – without Rowan, Quillinan and Dove – played Cornell and Scotland in its first two games of LaxFest. No score was kept for the games earlier in the day.

Team USA will cut its roster in half, from 48 to 24, after this weekend’s LaxFest. Twenty-four players will make the Elite team, while the remaining half will play on the Developmental team for the national squad.

Heether said she was impressed with Rowan and Quillinan, but upset with her own team’s decision-making against the Orange. She said the national team let Syracuse have too many possessions and shots compared to what she wanted, saying her team was too comfortable after the early lead.

Quillinan and the rest of the Orange said a loss to Team USA helped refocus the team going into the 2009 season. Connell said she was very confident in Syracuse after its showing against team USA.

‘Team USA is a high-octane offense and a high-pressure defense,’ Quillinan said. ‘Many college teams are not like that, but Team USA helped remind us of the intensity we would have to play at if we want to return to the final four and to win a national championship.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on October 12, 2008 at 12:00 pm