Syracuse’s unbeaten start came to an end Thursday afternoon.

The No. 1 Orange (12-1, 4-0 Big East) lost 2-1 to Massachusetts in front of 198 at Garber Field in Amherst, Mass. Syracuse held a 1-0 lead at halftime but two second-half goals by the Minutewomen (6-8, 0-1 Atlantic 10) ended the Orange’s hopes of an undefeated season.

Freshman Alyssa Manley’s second goal of the year gave Syracuse the lead in the 24th minute, scoring on a rebound.

The Orange’s lead held up until the 57th minute. Noralie Weusthuis tipped in a shot by Lauren Allymohamed to tie the game with 13:41 remaining in the game.

The Minutewomen’s goal ended Syracuse goaltender Leann Stiver’s streak of 437 consecutive minutes played without surrendering a goal.

Six minutes later, UMass took the lead on a goal by Thando Zono, who shot from the right side of the shooting circle, sneaking the ball inside the left post.

Behind by a goal, SU drew three penalty corners in the final minute of the game but the Minutewomen thwarted the attempts. Shots taken by Syracuse’s Leonie Geyer were blocked and missed wide.

Syracuse’s 12-0 start ranks second-best in program history behind the team’s 14-0 start in 2008.

The Orange will stay in Amherst, Mass., to take on No. 13 Stanford (9-4) on Friday.

—Compiled by Phil D’Abbraccio, staff writer, [email protected]

Published on October 11, 2012 at 7:18 pm