Ange Bradley angrily fired her beanie to the ground in the closing seconds of Syracuse’s 2-1 victory over Boston University, as clock malfunctions stalled play and punctuated a hysteric end to the NCAA tournament first-round match.

Fourth-seeded SU (16-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) would eventually hear the final horn blare after the clock stopped momentarily with 35 seconds remaining, as it defeated the Terriers (13-8, 5-1 Patriot), and propelled into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

In a game littered with penalties and green cards, Syracuse got on the board first via a penalty shot by senior back Jordan Page, giving SU a 1-0 advantage 9:44 into the first half. A defensive stalemate ensued for nearly 40 minutes after Page’s goal until freshman midfielder Lieke Visser cleared the ball over a mass of players in front of the goal and into the top shelf of the net to put SU up two.

With 1:06 remaining, BU midfielder Hester van der Laan was awarded a penalty shot. It was blocked by SU goalie Jess Jecko lunging to her right, but Jecko was called for moving before van der Laan did, so another shot was rewarded. Van der Laan converted the second time around, providing the Terriers with final a glimmer of hope.

The goal only delayed the inevitable, as the Orange ran out the remaining 66 seconds and conquered the lingering ghosts of last season’s first-round upset in the NCAA tournament to Michigan State.

“It was an emotional game,” Bradley said. “I’m just so proud of our kids.”

SU fell just short in it’s run to an ACC championship six days prior, losing in the final to Wake Forest, 2-0. Despite the loss in the tournament, the talented nucleus of freshmen for SU gained experience that led the Orange to victory with Visser scoring the game-winner on Saturday.

“I think (the freshmen) kept their calm pretty well,” Page said. “The ACC tournament helped a lot with the experience of coming into this tournament”

The Orange offense battled aggressively, outshooting BU 14-12, with 10-of-14 shots on target. Jecko, who hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game since Nov. 1, was up to the task on the Terriers’ six shots on goal.

In the second half, Syracuse was tagged with two green cards and had a two-player disadvantage. But despite the uncertainty, junior midfielder Alyssa Manley said everyone was amply able to keep their cool.

“I just knew we had to not drop off and keep pressure,” Manley said. “We just needed to stay calm and stay together with the players that we had.”

That’s precisely what the SU defense did. Manley, along with senior forward Kati Nearhouse both aggressively pushed the Terriers offense away by clearing two scoring opportunities.

The defense held back BU until that final minute when van der Laan cut the deficit to just one goal. Syracuse navigated the final tense moments by fluidly passing the ball and finding open space like they had all game.

The clock ran down to zero and the brief moments of celebration quickly toned down, knowing the Orange would play again tomorrow with its season on the line.

Bradley has brought SU to seven NCAA tournaments in her tenure. With no national championships in that time, she knows her team can’t look ahead further than 24 hours.

Said Bradley: “We have another day. We have one of eight seats left in the tournament”

Published on November 15, 2014 at 7:32 pm

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