Normally, SU centerback Abby Jonathan plugs the middle of the box, barking out instructions and clearing loose balls. On Sunday, Jonathan spent most of the game playing striker. And without her communication in the back, the Orange (3-6, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) conceded two corner kick goals in a  4-0 loss to No. 13 Duke (7-1-1, 1-0-0).

By playing Taylor Bennett and Jonathan—both traditionally center backs—at striker and moving Clarke Brown to outside midfield, SU tried to create quality chances. In the end, SU registered three shots in its fourth straight loss.

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“Every game we go into is a winnable game,” SU head coach Phil Wheddon said. “For 30 minutes of this game, we felt quite comfortable…Right now, we’re not athletically capable of sustaining our performance. We have quite a few injuries, it’s a challenge to keep a consistent lineup.”

In nine games this season, SU has scored six goals. The Orange average nine shots per game and less than half of them are on net. In the past four losses, they have been outscored 13 to two.

So, on Sunday Wheddon mixed up the lineup. SU moved two defenders up top, Wheddon said, because the Orange couldn’t string enough passes together to create chances. Instead, SU relied on long balls through the air, hoping Jonathan and Bennett, who normally defend crosses could score them.

“Some players bring different stuff,” goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx said. “And if we change their position, they can make something different, a different impact on the team.”

Proulx played all 90 minutes and registered eight saves on 24 shots faced, 12 on goal.

Duke’s leading scorer Taylor Racioppi put the Blue Devils on the board with a one-touch goal in the 33rd minute. Bennett, while playing center back, failed to contain Marykate McGuire, who shook her off and slotted an assist across the box. Five minutes after Racioppi’s goal, McGuire blasted a left-footed shot above Lysianne Proulx to give Duke a 2-0 lead.

Bennett, who returned after missing the past two games to injury, played 80 minutes, splitting time between striker and center back. Jonathan, who had previously played center back exclusively, saw significant time up top.

On the first corner goal, Jonathan was defending in the box, but Duke’s cross squirted through multiple defenders and found a Blue Devil’s foot.

“We know we need to keep our mark, so it was just a little mistake, kind of a slip of focus,” SU defender Jenna Tivnan said.

On the second corner goal, Jonathan wasn’t in the box. Duke’s cross squeezed untouched between Bennett and the front post before Proulx could react.

Clarke Brown, typically an outside back, was stationed as a wing for most of her 80 minutes. She used her defensive instincts to regain possession in the midfield on multiple occasions and made runs up the sideline, but didn’t record a shot.

Injuries also contributed to Wheddon’s lineup alterations. Striker Kate Donovan likely would have played most of the game up top, but she sat out with an injury. Donovan had started all eight prior games.

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Tivnan left the Kent State game on Thursday with a head injury and was monitored for a concussion. She said she was cleared and played 90 minutes despite minor whiplash which hurts during headers.

There are more lineup changes to come. SU’s leading scorer, Kate Hostage, went down with a left ankle injury in the 62nd minute. She was carted off the field after the final horn and will get x-rays, Wheddon said.

“We’re fighting a battle right now,” Wheddon said. “None of our players have injuries from training or anything like that. We’re getting contact injuries in games, and it’s costing us at the moment.” 

Published on September 16, 2018 at 6:24 pm

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