Nicole Levy could’ve charged eight yards out from the net, maybe dodged a defender or faked out the goalie, and hit nylon unassisted. But this installation of Levy, a senior attack, doesn’t think that way anymore. It’s not her role in Syracuse head coach Gary Gait’s revamped offense.

After winding up from the 20-yard line with a granted free position opportunity, Levy would’ve had a one-on-one with Harvard’s goalie, Grace Rotondo. But as three Harvard defenders collided inward, Levy noticed an uncovered attack near the left of the crease, Sierra Cockerille. So instead, Levy, like she had done all night, made the pass.

“I think it’s a no-brainer,” Levy said of her pass to Cockerille on the free position. “It’s either me from the eight or her on the doorstep. You give it her every time.”

Last season, Levy formed a one-two scoring punch with Emily Hawryschuk — the latter leading the way with 53 goals. Assists weren’t her focus then, just any goals the 9-10 Orange could muster. But on Tuesday, Levy’s switch to pass-first quantified to its biggest extreme as her number of goals (19) equaled her assist total on the season. In a 15-6 win over Harvard, the senior recorded just two shots, tied for her lowest of the season, but dished a career-high four assists.

“We’re just looking to be balanced, to be the best team out there,” Gait said. “We need to pass out there, to find the open players. It’s just part of the offense, and it’s resulting of some assists, which is great.”

Before Syracuse floundered to a sub-.500 record in 2018, Levy’s passing abilities on offense showed in Gait’s system. In her first two years, a combined 34-13 record for the Orange, she posted back-to-back 22 assist seasons. But as SU struggled to keep up with top teams in the nation last year, it turned to Levy as a second scoring option, and Riley Donahue as its primary passer.

With less offensive weapons, Levy’s passing numbers dropped, and she had just 10 assists in 19 games. But with the loss of Donahue came freshmen Megan Carney and Meaghan Tyrrell, who opened the Orange offense with 36 combined goals so far.

“I think we changed the type of offense,” Gait said. “We have a bit to fit our personnel, and it’s working.”

Instead of playing behind the net or jumping to the crease, Levy played back between Sam Swart and Mary Rahal on Tuesday hovering around the Carrier Dome’s 20-yard line. When there was movement on offense, Levy moved left, closer to Hawryschuk.

As the SU offense crept in looking for its second score of the game, Levy stayed back on the left. Morgan Alexander winced in pain in front of the net as the possession clock hit single-digits. Levy, not paying mind to Alexander’s bow, took advantage of the distracted eyes and shuffled a pass to Tyrrell who scored.

Because of Levy’s offensive repertoire that’s gained her a reputation for trick shots and smooth finishes, the senior still gets doubled often. Harvard’s zone shifted toward Levy on the press, and Tyrrell was uncovered at the crease. Levy spun back, motioned her stick vertical and jumped to find the freshman surrounded by red jerseys. Levy entered the break with three assists and no shot attempts.

“They were going in and out of their zone,” Levy said of Harvard’s defense. “We communicated around like ‘Hey, know what they’re in.’”

On one pass out of the break, she faked to Hawryschuk on the edge and found Swart in the middle, who spun and went in. The next possession, she did the reverse, and Hawryschuk’s shot missed the net.

“That’s what we needed today,” Levy said of her passing. “Whatever we need, I’ll just step up and do it.”

With her low shot total, Levy spun her stick twice on one play with no shooting space penalty because no one was around. She could’ve attempted a slingshot into the net. But as her right foot planted, she instead rotated and passed behind-the-back.

Her trick shots aren’t going into the net at the same rate anymore, they’re going into her teammates sticks.

Published on March 19, 2019 at 7:48 pm

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