The celebration was minimal.

After Devon Collins flipped a Katie Webster feed over the right shoulder of Boston College goaltender Emily Mata to extend the Syracuse lead to 11-7, the Orange attack and midfielders huddled tightly near the 20-yard line.

But rather than just congratulating the freshman attack on her second goal of the game, the conversation centered on maintaining focus and intensity.

‘There were definitely some ‘good jobs,’ but I think it was mostly just like, ‘Keep up the big energy’ because ‘big energy’ is our team motto this year, and we live by that,’ Collins said. ‘… And we were relentless the rest of the game. We kept pushing it down their throats.’

SU added three more scores as part of a 4-0 run, including Collins’ goal to put the game out of reach during No. 12 Syracuse’s season-opening 23-12 victory over the No. 8 Eagles on Tuesday. Collins, Gabby Jaquith and Kailah Kempney combined for 10 goals and three assists in their collegiate debuts, while goaltender Kelsey Richardson turned away nine of the 15 Eagles’ shots she faced.

Though their performances were overshadowed by a record-breaking eight-goal outing by sophomore attack Alyssa Murray, SU (1-0) will rely on the freshmen once again when it returns to action against No. 6 Virginia (2-0) Sunday at noon.

The Cavaliers averaged 11.7 goals allowed per game last season, so the lethal freshmen should have plenty of opportunities to replicate their season-opening performances.

If the Orange can generate the amount of quality shots it did against the Eagles, it should be able to capitalize.

‘We’ve been talking about chemistry and taking our offense to the next level, and that means being unselfish,’ SU head coach Gary Gait said. ‘It means being willing to risk passing the ball and having the confidence to catch those under pressure or to make that next step.’

Gait preaches for his team to stay involved in the offense at all times. And Jaquith did just that midway through the first half.

As midfielder Amy Cross ran on the right side of the field, Bridget Daley cut across her, creating space from the defense. Cross flipped the ball back to Daley, who found Jaquith, stick held high in front of the net.

Jaquith then dropped her right foot toward the goal, spun around and fired a rocket into the top left of the net to put SU ahead 7-4.

‘Everyone’s a weapon, everyone can score,’ junior attack Michelle Tumolo said. ‘… I really wasn’t sure how the offense was going to go because we really haven’t played another team in three months, so it was great to see that.’

After Collins’ score, Richardson turned away a Brittany Wilton free-position with an impressive stick save. Murray then capitalized with a goal in transition.

And after another denial from Richardson just minutes later, it was Collins that made a play.

She waited patiently on the left side of the field, 15 yards away from the goal, as Webster raced down the heart of the field, weaving through BC players. As she ran toward the net, the defense collapsed on her.

Collins crashed toward the net, Webster lofted it up and Collins swept it past Mata’s left foot.

And 25 seconds later, junior defender Linley Block found Kempney for an overhead strike. Kempney led the freshmen with five goals and a game-high 10 draw controls.

‘Kailah Kempney came in and she just dominated,’ Gait said. ‘She was awesome. For a freshman to step up on the draw — we thought we had something special with her on the draw, and so far she’s proving us right. She’s looked good in the draw circle, but she scored some big goals on the ‘O’ end too.’

Nearly five minutes after breaking that huddle following Collins’ goal, the SU lead ballooned from four goals to seven.

Facing the second of five consecutive top-10 teams, the Orange will need the firepower from the freshmen to earn another win.

‘We just jelled as a team, and it felt great to be a contributor on that team,’ Collins said.

sebail01@syr.edu

Published on February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1