Charlotte de Vries lined up another shot, but this time, the ball didn’t go directly in. Syracuse trailed Lafayette 2-1 on Sept. 2, her earlier goal trimming a two-goal deficit to one. Yet, an upset of the then-No. 18 Orange still brewed.

Laura Graziosi’s pass arrived to de Vries, and forward Tess Queen stood in front to deflect the ensuing shot in. de Vries didn’t get the assist, but it was another scoring chance that SU’s most impactful freshman created.

During the first four games of Syracuse’s season, de Vries has been the focal point of the Orange offense. She’s tallied 11 points — five goals and an assist — in that span, and is on pace to surpass Roos Weers’ team-leading total of 11 goals last year. It stems from international competition and a 173-goal high school career that’s allowed de Vries to develop her reverse hit and quick first step, her “signature” skills, said her Conestoga, Pennsylvania High School coach Megan Smyth.

Because of de Vries’ ability to capitalize on scoring chances, No. 23 Syracuse (3-1) has overcome its lack of secondary scoring heading into its Friday night matchup with No. 14 St. Joseph’s (3-0), the first of three ranked opponents in five games.

“She just has a scorer’s mindset, a shooter’s mindset,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said. “It’s just a mindset plus obviously a lot of talent.”

For the past three seasons, the Orange relied on Weers’ drag flick on penalty corners and sturdy defense. Last year, Weers’ role expanded to mentoring an inexperienced SU roster. With the four-year cornerstone now graduated, SU’s 14 returning players, including junior Chiara Gutsche (eight goals last season), factored in as the main offensive threats heading into the season.

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But in March, Bradley secured de Vries, a top-10 recruit. The recruit that played for the US U-19 team during the High Performance Tours in Europe in 2019 and competed in the Young Women’s National Championshipin Lancaster, Pennsylvania months later. Those two different styles of play, de Vries said, are the same that helped shape her style of play: aggressive and physical, yet smooth with ball possession.

She lived in Belgium for seven years and said she witnessed players more skillful and faster with ball control and stick speed. Then, de Vries moved back to the United States and competed against players stronger on the ball, a trend that continued throughout high school and national tournaments.

“It makes me a better player to see different types of field hockey around the world,” de Vries said.

Her family moved to the Conestoga district for her freshman year of high school, and de Vries walked into Smyth’s office — her coach for two years was also a school counselor — while on a tour and expressed an interest in playing field hockey.

Smyth spent the next two seasons watching de Vries, whose goals led the Pioneers to an undefeated Central League record her first year. de Vries would receive the ball and immediately break free because of her first step. She’d finish off possessions with her signature reverse hit, Smyth said, the flipped stick providing just enough launch angle to fling past the goalie.

“She’s constantly thinking two, three plays away,” Smyth said.

de Vries’ anticipation has helped her provide the bulk of the Orange’s scoring through the nonconference games, as Syracuse heads into the more difficult portion of its schedule. For her game-winning goal against UMass Lowell on Sept. 1, she gathered the ball on the right wing and weaved through the River Hawks’ defense before using the reverse hit to slice the ball into the net.

Against Lafayette, de Vries found a new way to score. Positioned in front of the cage, de Vries watched sophomore SJ Quigley’s shot after a penalty corner possession ricochet off Leopards’ goalie Sarah Park and eyed up a rebound. Then, “I just kind of did what I do,” de Vries said, chuckling as she looked back on the goal.

The ball settled in the net’s right corner. Even when another SU player couldn’t finish an opportunity in the crease, the freshman found a way to convert.

“She just puts a lot of movement in our forward line,” Graziosi said. “On the field, it’s the hard running and the goal-making, she’s already become an important player.”

Published on September 12, 2019 at 1:24 am

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @CraneAndrew