Albany goalkeeper Megan Akstin stopped Syracuse 15 times in the first half Wednesday.

In the second half, Syracuse scored three goals to defeat Albany, 3-0, at Skidmore College.

The Orangewomen easily moved the ball downfield past Albany defenders, spending much of the first half on attack. When a scoring opportunity came, though, SU fell short.

‘It was frustrating,’ senior Michelle Marks said. ‘We were dominating the entire time.’

But Syracuse took poor shots.

‘We need to crank it instead of pushing it,’ forward Kristin Aronowicz said. ‘That’s something we have to work on. We’re getting the ball in the circle. We’re just not finishing.’

Sensing frustration, head coach Kathleen Parker told her group to remain focused.

‘Sometimes if you shoot and it doesn’t go in, you tend to get tense,’ she said. ‘You feel like you’re never going to score. The biggest thing is for them to stay relaxed.’

Parker’s advice worked.

After Akstin saved a shot from Aronowicz off a corner, Marks put in the rebound for the first goal. It got easier from there.

‘Once one goes in, you think, ‘We can definitely do that again,’ ‘ sophomore Ann-Marie Guglieri said. ‘It’s a big relief when something goes on the board.’

Twelve minutes after Marks, Guglieri doubled the lead. Then Aronowicz finished the scoring with help from freshman Jessica Dahle, who recorded her first career point.

‘One wasn’t good enough,’ Aronowicz said. ‘We needed to keep scoring and keep the pressure on.’

The opportunities were created by a strong defense.

‘They hit us with some really good passes,’ Guglieri said. ‘When the defense plays like that, (the forwards) are able to stay upfield.’

That made goaltender Audrey Latsko’s job easy. The senior needed only one save to record her 14th career shutout, putting her fourth on SU’s all-time list.

She’ll likely face more work against No. 8 Michigan State (4-1) when the Orangewomen host the Spartans today at Coyne Field at 8 p.m on the first day of the Big East/Big Ten Field Hockey Challenge. Rutgers and Indiana open the tournament at 4 p.m., followed at 6 by Villanova and No. 16 Ohio State. Matchups on Sunday start at 10 a.m. with Villanova and Indiana, followed by Michigan State and Rutgers at noon, then Syracuse and Ohio State at 2 p.m.

Syracuse and Michigan State, the respective defending conference champions, last met in 1996, a 2-1 Spartans win in overtime.

MSU enters with a four-game winning streak in which they have outscored opponents, 18-1. Keep an eye on sophomore Annebet Beerman, who scored 10 goals as a rookie, and earlier this season was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

‘We can’t do what we did against Albany,’ Aronowicz said. ‘We have to keep an open mind, go in, and play our game and then adjust.’

Said Parker: ‘They’re obviously a very good, well-respected team. We can’t make any mental mistakes.’

This and that

Sophomore Elizabeth O’Hara was cleared Monday to return to practice after she missed the last two weeks with soreness in her back. ‘I’m just anxious to get back on the field,’ O’Hara said. ‘I feel good.’

Copy Editor Pete Schreiber contributed to this report.

Published on September 12, 2002 at 12:00 pm