The Orange had chances. Several clears, better defensive pressure and three quality shots gave the Orange hope of clawing back from a 2-0 deficit in the second half. Then the ball came off Louisville player Emina Ekic’s foot and sailed tightly into the top left corner of the net in the 76th minute, erasing any SU optimism.

Despite Syracuse’s adjustments, the comeback wasn’t coming. No. 22 Louisville (8-1-0, 1-0-0) secured the win 3-0, the sixth time the Orange (2-5-2, 0-1-1 Atlantic Coast) have been shut out this season.

“It came down to a lack of heart from us,” senior defender Taylor Bennett said. “We need to really take a gut check and really fix ourselves first before we look at the outside opposition.”

Head coach Nicky Adams said she was surprised at how little energy her team came out with. They were outshot 10-3 in the first half.

While Syracuse couldn’t put away chances in the second half, Louisville struggled to find the same footing it had in the first. Adams said she game-planned for the Cardinals’ high-pressure attack, but SU wasn’t able to execute in the first half.

“At halftime we said we have to be more direct but keep our team shape more compact so when we do go direct we have numbers around the ball that can help us attack,” Adams said. “And I do think we started the second half better.”

Louisville only outshot the Orange 6-3 after the break. But while the Orange were able to do a better job beating the press defensively, the offense still couldn’t click. 

In the 46th minute, a through ball to an open Meghan Root got just ahead of her and was cleared by Louisville keeper Gabby Kouzelos before Root could get a touch. Shannon Aviza had Gianna Villoresi wide open on the attacking side in the 52nd minute, but her pass was just too far and once again first reached by Louisville. SU got more hesitant.

As Kailee Coonan regained possession and brought the ball up midfield, the wings on both sides were ready to break loose. “Play it!” Adams yelled. But the Cardinal defenders caught on and forced a short pass before stealing possession.

The biggest opportunity came off a Syracuse corner kick, but Allen knocked it high and left of the goal.

“I mean we had one-on-one opportunities with the goalie,” Allen said. “We could have been three-all, we could have gone to overtime. The reason that Louisville won the game is because they took their chances and we didn’t.”

Fouls also killed momentum on several occasions for the Orange. In the 49th minute, Kailey Brenner made an explosive move with the ball down the sideline, before committing a foul as Louisville’s final defender closed on her.

In the 62nd minute, Syracuse drew a free kick and then immediately a corner. A play that looked to be a good chance in front of the net was blown dead as Villoresi was given a yellow card for her third foul, drawing the ire of Adams and her staff who didn’t understand the call. 

After being dominated in the first half, Syracuse’s sloppiness in the second cost them the game, even when the door was open to bring the deficit within reach.

“We chose to take too many touches when we had the ball and the things we worked on in training the past two games weren’t executed today,” Adams said. “So this is totally on us for not executing a game plan that could set us up for success.”

Published on September 27, 2019 at 2:23 pm

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