The Syracuse field hockey team has some work to do on first impressions.

Of the eight goals Syracuse has scored this season, only one has come in the first half.

No. 20 Syracuse (3-2) will try to stop that trend when it hosts No. 7 Penn State (4-0) today at 3 p.m. at Coyne Field.

The tendency stretches to last year’s home opener when Syracuse defeated Albany, 4-0. All four goals came in the second half.

It continued through the season and into the playoffs. SU dug a one-goal deficit, 1-0, at halftime against Rutgers in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. But the Orangewomen rallied for three second-half goals to advance to the finals.

“It takes us a while to get going,” sophomore Lindsay Peirson said. “But once we get comfortable, we really start to play well.”

Such was the case this year in SU’s opener against Stanford on Sept. 6.

Flat and sluggish for the first 15 minutes, Syracuse scored first when Missy Grosman found the back of the net with 6:01 left in the opening half. Energized following the goal, the Orangewomen racked up two more in the following half to defeat Stanford, 3-0.

“We played well both halves of the game,” junior Jackie Sheaffer said. “It’s just our thing. We haven’t been scoring in the first half.”

More recently against No. 16 Ohio State, the Orangewomen played mostly on the attack, outshooting the Buckeyes, 5-4, in the first half. They got the same result, though — no goals in the first half. Peirson scored 2:18 into the extra period for a 1-0 win.

The trend even baffles head coach Kathleen Parker.

“If I knew why that was, it wouldn’t be happening,” Parker said.

Yet the Orangewomen know why they finish well.

“When we talk at halftime, we realize that we only have 35 more minutes to win the game,” sophomore Meredith Gettel said. “It’s different when you have 70 minutes and the entire game ahead of you.”

But a lackluster first 35 could hurt.

“It really could be a problem,” senior Kristin Aronowicz said. “We’ve been in positions where we were down two goals, and we had to come back. It’s something really hard to do.”

“We’re going to come out in the first five minutes against teams,” sophomore Ann-Marie Guglieri said. “We’ve been doing this in practice. The first drill, we’re trying to be more intense. Hopefully it will carry over into the games.”

SU may well need a quick start this afternoon.

The Nittany Lions have outscored foes, 9-0, in the first 35 minutes.

Defensively, PSU is even tougher with goalkeeper Annie Zinkavich. The junior has posted a 0.64 goals-against average, while holding a .913 save percentage.

“We can’t let that happen against Penn State if we want to win,” Aronowicz said. “We need to come out hard against Penn State.”

***

This and that

Syracuse entered the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll yesterday afternoon for the first time this season. The Orangewomen debut at No. 20, the last spot in the ranking. … Senior goaltender Audrey Latsko was named Big East co-defensive player of the week with Boston College’s Kerri Doherty. Latsko recorded two shutouts last week, helping Syracuse to a 2-1 record. “I never really expect it when it comes,” Latsko said, “but it’s exciting.’

Published on September 17, 2002 at 12:00 pm