Every time Syracuse made a comeback, Duke answered.

In their 10-9 victory, the Blue Devils lost their lead five times. And while the Orange managed to repeatedly tie the game, SU never pulled ahead.

When Duke finally took a shot after passing up open looks and running off some clock, Syracuse goalie Kelsey Richardson made a save, but Syracuse’s Brenna Rainone turned the ball over.

And when SU got the ball back, Halle Majorana turned it back over and the Orange lost possession for good.

In its first game since the indefinite suspension of starting midfielder Kelly Cross, No. 6 Syracuse (8-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 4 Duke (10-1, 4-1) by one on Saturday afternoon in Durham, North Carolina. Kayla Treanor’s team-high three goals weren’t enough to avoid the Orange’s third one-goal loss of the year and its second in a row.

Fourteen minutes passed after freshman attack Riley Donahue tied the game at one and the Blue Devils rattled off three goals in a five-minute span to take a 4-1 lead.

But three minutes later, Syracuse answered with its own 3-0 run on goals from Treanor, Taylor Gait and Majorana. Despite the momentum, the Orange was unable to break the tie and went into halftime trailing 5-4.

After Duke struck first in the second half, midfielder Taylor Poplawski cut the lead back down to one. Treanor then tied the game up at six, and Duke answered.

She tied it at seven, and Duke answered again.

Erica Bodt tied it at eight, and Duke answered for the fifth time after a tie.

But Syracuse’s Mallory Vehar picked up the ensuing draw control, giving the Orange possession and Treanor a chance to add to her three-goal performance.

She shook off her defender with a shoulder fake, attacked the goal and unleashed a shot only to be saved by Duke’s Kelsey Duryea with just under 18 minutes left to play.

Thirty-eight seconds later, the Blue Devils scored their final goal of the game, which would prove to be enough despite numerous Syracuse comeback attempts.

Syracuse will face Virginia Tech (5-7, 0-4) next Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

Compiled by Paul Schwedelson, asst. copy editor, [email protected]

Published on March 28, 2015 at 5:10 pm