Alyssa Murray dodged to her right, running hard toward Kim Kolarik. The Syracuse attack took a quick shot across her body, firing the ball between the post and the goalkeeper’s right side. The free-position goal with just more than 12 minutes remaining gave the Orange its first lead of the game.

Murray, who came into the game second on the team in goals (6) and first in points (9), led the Orange with four goals on Sunday in No. 6 Syracuse’s 10-9 win. After No. 7 Virginia’s defense clamped down on Syracuse early, Murray eventually kickstarted the Orange’s offense. None of her goals were bigger than the free-position shot at the 12:04 mark of the second half.

“Alyssa, you know, she’s got that killer instinct,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “She wants to score that goal and make something happen and we needed that … In the second half, she took some chances. That’s what we’ve talked about and that’s what good leaders do. They step up and show it can be done.”

The Orange fell behind 4-0 and was held scoreless for more than 25 minutes into the game. The Cavaliers played a ball-control style of offense and held the ball for long periods of time, which limited SU’s opportunities. Kolarik made four saves during the lengthy stretch.

Murray eventually broke the scoring drought.

The junior attack cut through the Cavaliers’ defense, received a pass from Michelle Tumolo and shot it into the net with 4:32 remaining in the first half. Murray cut the lead in half 55 seconds later on a free-position shot. She came in from the left side and threw a bouncing shot past Kolarik.

Syracuse went into the half trailing 5-2, with Murray as its lone goal-scorer.

Murray said after the game that the attackers might have had an aggressive mindset because of the tight defensive battle early on. That contributed to poor decision-making. Combined with Virginia’s slow style of play, it was a tough first half for Syracuse’s attack.

“It’s a tough way to get the offense going, but I think after we really sat back, took a deep breath, we were able to refocus,” Murray said. “I think in the second half, we really noticed when we had better opportunities and maybe pulled it out when we were not so sure.”
Tumolo said the team attacked the net more and had a better shot selection. SU scored eight goals in the second half, and Murray scored two of the bigger ones.

With 22 minutes remaining in regulation, Murray held possession on the right side of the Syracuse offense. She gained a head of steam coming off of the right side, split two defenders and shot through a tight window to score. Trailing 6-4 with 21:58 remaining, Murray’s goal brought SU to within one.

Virginia regained a three-goal advantage at 8-5. But the Orange scored three goals in the next six and a half minutes, tying the game at eight. It was the last time Virginia would hold a lead.

With 12:04 remaining, Murray scored the free-position goal to make the score 9-8.

Virginia scored nearly two minutes later to even the score, but freshman attack Kayla Treanor scored the game-winner with 4:56 left in the game.

Murray knew she wanted to play a strong game so the Orange could break an eight-game losing streak against the Cavaliers. Virginia was also one of two teams the Orange had never beaten during Gait’s tenure as head coach.

Gait has talked early in the season about SU’s veterans stepping up in crucial situations. On Sunday, Murray answered the call.

“I just wanted to break that Virginia curse,” Murray said. “That was kind of going through my mind the whole game is we’ve got to break that curse. So eight years and now we’ve finally done it.”

Published on February 25, 2013 at 1:34 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu