Allie Murray was forced away from the spot she’d made her mark all game. With under a minute to play, Syracuse double-teamed Maryland’s ball-carriers and the Orange’s goalie had to leave her crease.

The season-high seven saves in front of the goal weren’t enough to avoid leaving it. Maryland milked the clock, finished the game and beat SU for the eighth consecutive time.

“Obviously down in the end going after them, they got some easy ones in the end,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said, “but I thought other than that, (Murray) played well.”

In the No. 3 Orange’s (6-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) 14-9 loss to No. 1 Maryland (5-0) on Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome, Murray kept SU alive, but it wasn’t enough to survive. UMD scored at least 18 goals in three of its first four games, but Murray’s performance helped keep the Terrapins at bay, until they scored four goals in the final seven minutes. For the first 53 minutes, though, Murray kept Syracuse afloat.

Each of Murray’s two first-half saves came in different ways. With SU down by one, 15 minutes in, Murray deflected a shot to hit off the post. With six minutes left in the half, Murray dove on the ground to stop Bryn Boucher’s bounce shot. But the Orange failed to clear the ball and a minute later, Maryland extended its lead to two.

Like the game as a whole, Murray helped Syracuse but the rest of the team’s sloppy play hurt it.

“I thought she came out in the second half and had a couple big saves for us,” Gait said. “We were in the game until untimely turnovers, untimely close shooting, giving them the ball back, giving a team like that the ball. They’re going to score goals that way.”

In the Orange’s only other loss this season against then-No. 3 Florida, Murray’s turnover in overtime cost Syracuse the game. Less than two weeks later against the top team in the country, she had her best performance, highlighted by five second-half saves.

Murray repeatedly took several steps in front of the net when the Terrapins attempted free-position shots. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, as Maryland went seven-of-11 on free-position shots.

“(Our defense) allowed me to just play my game,” Murray said.

And it was that same defense that failed to finish possessions started by Murray, while others resulted in goals.

Within the first 10 minutes of the second half, Murray already doubled her save total from the first half and SU was locked in a tie game, 7-7.

First, Murray moved her stick up and to the right, stuffing Boucher, who stood right in front of the crease. SU cleared the ball, but Gabby Jaquith turned it over on the ensuing possession.

Second, a shot deflected off Murray’s stick, hit off the right post and bounced out. Murray covered up the rebound, started the transition and the next possession ended with a Syracuse goal that tied the game at six.

Third, Murray stopped Taylor Hensh on a free-position shot by again redirecting the ball off her stick. But Maryland got the backup behind the net and kept the ball.

Twenty seconds later, Maryland had another free-position shot. Murray recorded another save. But another Syracuse possession ended without a goal.

From that point on, Maryland outscored Syracuse 7-2 and the Orange’s inability to answer UMD’s run did it in.

“Sometimes it was almost frustrating because I thought our shooters were pretty open,” UMD head coach Cathy Reese said. “Had some good looks and she came out with the save.

“She kind of killed our momentum.”

But “kind of” wasn’t enough against the No. 1 team in the country.

Published on March 12, 2016 at 4:05 pm

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