Sam Swart jabbed left, then right, mirroring the ball in Olivia Batista’s stick. Everywhere the Binghamton midfielder went, Swart went too. But then, Swart went off script. She guessed where Batista was going before the Bearcat got there herself and hit the ball out of her stick.

Immediately, Swart was off and running. The former four-sport athlete easily beat Batista down the field, ultimately finding Natalie Wallon in the middle of Binghamton’s defensive half. With their focus on Swart, the chaotic Bearcats defense lost Wallon, who found Nicole Levy for a goal, just 10 seconds after Swart gained possession.

For 50 minutes, SU’s (2-0) defense tormented Binghamton’s (0-1) attackers and midfielders, often preventing them from even attempting a shot in the Orange’s 15-5 victory on Tuesday. Despite allowing four goals in the last nine minutes of the game, Syracuse held an opponent to five or fewer goals for the first time in nearly two years. And after defeating Connecticut 18-6 during its season opener on Friday, SU’s now held two straight teams to single-digit goals, a feat it achieved twice last season.

“I was super impressed today (with the defense),” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “They didn’t give up any easy goals, they kept getting the ball back for us … I thought they were the stars of the game today.”

While the Orange’s season-opening win featured their offense scoring eight goals in the first eight minutes of the game, Tuesday’s contest was controlled by the defense. Possession after possession, SU’s defense kept the Bearcats away from the goal. A goal with 0.5 seconds left until halftime finally got Binghamton on the board, but it was just its second shot on goal of the game to that point.

Instead of shooting the ball, which the Bearcats did just four times in the first half, they frequently turned it over. The Orange forced 12 turnovers in the first half alone, two fewer than their season high in a game last year, and finished with 15 in the game.

“That’s always a big key, in defense or ride,” defender Kerry Defliese said regarding forced turnovers. “It just sparks the emotion to get everyone going, just keep ‘em coming.”

The key to causing turnovers for Syracuse was its midfielders and attackers, who were often successful in riding — preventing the ball to be brought back into SU’s defensive zone. Led by Wallon, who led the team with three forced turnovers, it was the Orange’s complimentary defenders who stepped up to halt the Bearcats’ attack.

A strong ride from SU’s offensive group of players led to more possessions, which rapidly turned into goals. An important stretch came late in the first half, following an over 10-minute scoring drought. It was kicked off by Swart, with her end-to-end hockey assist that led to the score by Levy.

On the next possession, SU midfielder Vanessa Costantino forced another turnover on Batista, this time leading to a longer offensive stand for Syracuse. It ended the same way the last one did though, with a goal following a forced turnover. Three minutes later, two more Binghamton giveaways led to a pair of Syracuse goals, and its lead had nearly doubled to 9-0.

“Coach talked about how that’s such a game changer, that’s the spark you need, especially in some of these bigger games coming up,” Wallon said. “I think middies and attackers have done a good job of making it an emphasis.”

Last season, Syracuse’s scoring defense ranked 91st in the country, a mediocre mark that can be partially blamed on inconsistent play from its goaltenders. While Gait said this season starting goalie Asa Goldstock is at the top of her game, through two games, the defense in front of her hasn’t given her a chance to show that. She’s faced just 15 shots on goal, a drastic change from last season when she faced single-digit shots on goal once all year.

But Gait wouldn’t grade SU’s play through the first two games of the season. When the best team in the country, No. 1 Boston College, visits the Carrier Dome on Saturday, it’ll have the chance to prove itself.

“That’s when you can really grade your team, we’ll have that opportunity come Saturday,” Gait said. “After that game, we can really talk about how we think we are for 2019.”

Published on February 12, 2019 at 9:55 pm

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