After losing 1-0 to No. 4 North Carolina on Thursday, Syracuse (7-9-1, 3-7-1 Atlantic Coast) kept its post-season hopes alive with a 2-1, double-overtime victory at North Carolina State (6-11-0, 1-10-0) on Sunday.

The Orange struggled with UNC’s tight defensive pressure on Thursday, and was unable to register a single shot. Summer Green scored the only goal of the game off of a free kick in the ninth minute.

On Sunday, freshman forward Stephanie Skilton netted the game winner in the 109th minute when junior Alexis Koval dribbled the length of the field and fed her the assist on the right side of the box. Skilton drilled the shot past NC State goalkeeper Mackenzie Stelljes for her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

The two teams played scoreless until the 61st minute, when freshman Taylor Haenlin collected a rebound and put the ball by Stelljes for her first goal of the season to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead.

The Wolfpack responded less than two minutes later. Caroline Gentry crossed the ball into the box and Jackie Stengel chipped her shot over SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel for the equalizer.

Anghel finished with eight saves, including two in the second overtime, to preserve SU’s chances at an ACC Tournament berth.

Syracuse will play its final home game of the season against Maryland on Thursday at 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium.

Field hockey

Freshman forward Karlee Farr continued her hot streak, but No. 1 Maryland (15-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) used a late surge to beat No. 4 Syracuse (12-2, 2-2) on Friday night.

Maxine Fluharty barely snuck a shot past SU goalie Jess Jecko with 49 seconds remaining to tie the game, and Jill Witmer converted on a penalty corner in the opening minutes of overtime to propel the Terrapins to a 2-1 victory over the Orange on Friday at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park, Md.

The battle of top-five teams did not disappoint in the first half. Maryland held a small 7-to-5 shot advantage, but neither side could capitalize with a goal.

Farr, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, broke the scoreless deadlock in the 49th minute with her sixth goal in the past four games and seventh overall. Leonie Geyer added her team-leading 11th assist on the play.

Syracuse desperately tried to hang onto its slim advantage, fighting off two penalty corners in the final five minutes of regulation. However, Jecko was only able to get a piece of Fluharty’s shot during the final minute, and the ball trickled past the goal line.

Only 2:37 into overtime, a third penalty corner proved to be the charm as Witmer shoveled a shot into the Syracuse net for her team-high 14th goal of the season.

The Orange returns to J.S. Coyne Stadium to welcome Wake Forest next Saturday at 1 p.m. and Cornell the following day at 2.

Ice hockey

Syracuse followed a disappointing 2-1 performance against Providence on Friday with an offensive explosion in a 4-1 win over the Friars the next day.

Goalie Kallie Billadeau made 25 saves against the Friars in Rhode Island on Friday night, but yielded two pivotal goals to the Friars’ offense.

Providence struck first when left-winger Janine Weber scored a goal 5:58 into the first period. After Billadeau kept Providence in check until the second period, center Corrine Buie delivered a goal to give the Friars a two-goal lead.

Trailing 2-0 in the third period, defenseman Brittney Krebs scored on a Syracuse power play goal to cut the deficit to one, but that was the only goal the Orange would manage in the losing effort.

Four different players led the charge on offense for Syracuse on Saturday. Defenseman Caitlin Roach scored a goal with 6:18 left in the first period to wake up the stagnant offense.

Forward Allie LaCombe capitalized on a power play with 18:43 left in the second period.

That was the first of two goals in the period. Forward Margot Scharfe added a goal two minutes later to give the Orange a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Forward Julie Knerr put the game officially out of reach with her goal, which came nearly 10 minutes into the third period.

Syracuse returns home to Tennity Ice Pavilion on Friday for a matchup with Boston College at 7 p.m.

Volleyball

Syracuse (8-12, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) swept the weekend, beating Maryland (11-9, 3-5) in straight sets Friday night, and Pittsburgh (12-9, 4-4) in four sets on Sunday afternoon.

In Friday’s match, the first set was a tough one. Syracuse won the set 30-28 after having to play extra points to decide the winner.

Once the set was tied at 7-7, Syracuse went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. It would maintain this advantage until the Terrapins went on a 4-0 run of their own to tie it at 14 apiece.

This would be the story for the third set, as well, as SU had to play to 29-27 to clinch the match.

In Sunday’s match against Pittsburgh, the Orange jumped out to an early lead and eventually won the first set 25-17.

In the second set, Syracuse lost its only set of the weekend 22-25. The Panthers went on a dominant 5-0 run, putting them up 17-11, which would prove too much for Syracuse to overcome.

Outside hitter Silvi Uattara performed exceptionally well, tallying 18 kills and 12 more digs, moving her double-double streak to three games.

Syracuse will play in the Carrier Dome on Friday night when it hosts Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. The Orange will then return to the Women’s Building on Sunday to face Clemson at 1 p.m.

Cross country

The Syracuse men and women both competed in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational and Princeton Invitational on Saturday.

The men’s team placed eighth in Madison, Wis., leading all ACC teams in the race. Sophomore Martin Hehir led the Orange, finishing 26th with a time of 23:49. Redshirt freshman MJ Erb finished five seconds later in 37th.

The women’s team placed 11th in Wisconsin, finishing in front of all ACC schools, as well. Sophomore Margo Malone finished 30th overall out of 254 runners with a time of 20:22. Sophomore Meredith Speakman and junior Jessie Petersen both finished in the top 60.

In Princeton, N.J., the men’s team only had two runners competing individually. Andrew Palmer finished in 64th with a time of 25:01, and Ryan Perry finished in 137th place with a time of 25:36. The women’s team competed with a full team and placed 17th overall. Angelica Peck led the Orange with a 32nd-place finish, and Molly Malone and Rebecca Skodis placed in the top 100 for the Orange.

The Orange will next compete at the John Reif Memorial in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 25.

—Compiled by The Daily Orange sports staff, [email protected]

Published on October 21, 2013 at 12:03 am