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After nearly a 20-minute scoring drought at the end of the first half against No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday, head coach Gary Gait knew Syracuse needed to be more aggressive offensively. They needed to make better passes to create shooting opportunities — or force shooting space violations and free-position chances. Down 10-4, SU chose the latter.

In the span of three minutes, Megan Carney dodged past her defender and found shooting space before getting fouled. But she fired the ensuing shot straight at UNC goalie Taylor Moreno, and Sam Swart did the same twice more. The Orange finished 0-for-3 from the 8-meter arc, their worst conversion rate since they were 0-for-6 in the 2020 season opener.

“We had chances to fight back and we continued to make mistakes,” Gait said. “That makes it tough when we don’t execute what we’ve been working on.”

This season, No. 3 Syracuse’s 37.1% free-position conversion rate is the worst in the ACC. It’s ranked 72nd in the nation, too. Thus far, SU’s offense has done well to replace All-American Emily Hawryschuk’s production, but through seven games, the Orange have just 13 free-position goals compared to last year’s 21 in the same span. Syracuse’s conversion percentage isn’t far from its 38.2% in 2020 or 38.4% in 2019, but Gait emphasized that the Orange draw up specific plays to move the ball and connect with open players. 

In years prior, Syracuse has utilized those, frequently making the additional pass on free positions, even from point-blank range. But this season, SU hasn’t always utilized that same strategy. 

“We had plays drawn up to move the ball and hit the open player, and instead, we took it to the goal and took a weak shot,” Gait said of SU’s free-position attempts against UNC.

Last season, Syracuse emphasized offensive creativity from the 8-meter arc. Against Colgate in 2020, then-freshman Bianca Chevarie was awarded a free-position shot, which she lobbed high and to the left of the cage. Chevarie’s strike wasn’t a mistake — Carney was stationed behind the goal, ready to receive the ball. She spun and scored to extend Syracuse’s lead to 15.

After the Orange went 0-for-6 from the 8-meter arc in 2020 against Canisius, Gait placed additional focus on free-position chances during practice. “It’s a great opportunity to score, and (we) want to be prepared to give ourselves the best chance,” Gait said last February.

Syracuse’s success then stemmed from a new free-position drill it started in practice last season, incorporating passes similar to Chevarie’s. Chevarie emphasized last February the importance of “always looking for that one more pass, if it’s there.” 

That unpredictability benefited Syracuse in 2020 and resurfaced in this year’s season-opening win over then-No. 5 Loyola. Midway through the first half, Carney had a chance to score her second free-position goal of the afternoon. Instead, she faked a shot and passed to Hawryschuk, who scored from point-blank range to give SU a 5-2 lead. 

“It looked like we continued where we left off last March,” Gait said after the game. 

The Orange scored twice on three free-position attempts against Loyola but topped a 50% rate just once in the ensuing six games. The following week against Stony Brook, Meaghan Tyrrell tried to pass to Sierra Cockerille during a free-position attempt in the first half. Cockerille received the ball, but her shot went too high. Later in the second half, freshman Emma Ward received the ball on a free-position attempt, which was saved by Kameron Halsall.

The Orange still defeated the Seawolves 16-6, but that was their first game without Hawryschuk, who tore her ACL in practice ahead of the Stony Brook game. The All-American was responsible for nine of SU’s 21 free-position goals in 2020. 

The Orange’s loss to the Tar Heels, where they were 0-for-3, was one of the first times this season where Hawryschuk’s absence was apparent, Gait said. While the Orange’s worst free-position performance came against the Tar Heels, their second-worst was against Notre Dame on March 14, when they scored just twice on nine attempts and missed all five first-half opportunities.

Trailing by four in the first half, Cockerille — who’s tied with Swart for the most free-position attempts this year— positioned herself on the left side of the arc with four teammates to her right. All four charged, anticipating a potential pass or rebound. But Cockerille never delivered. Instead, she charged the net and made the shot herself. Her shot went low and bounced off goalie Bridget Deehan. Emma Tyrrell missed on the rebound, and Syracuse had squandered its 8-meter chance once again.

Published on April 5, 2021 at 11:28 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu