Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

It seemed like a matter of time until Syracuse was going to break the deadlock. Tied 1-1 with Binghamton at halftime, the Orange had a 6-3 corner kick advantage and outshot the Bearcats 13-6 in the first half.

Despite hounding Binghamton’s backline in the first half, it took the Orange 16 minutes to take their first shot of the second half. Grace Gillard’s missed high, but SU regained possession following the Bearcats’ goal kick.

When the Orange regained possession, Kendyl Lauher and Anna Rupert connected on a one-two pass. After taking a touch inside of the penalty box, Lauher released a soft line drive toward the goal. It wasn’t SU’s most powerful shot of the night, but the ball’s tricky one-hop bounce and spin proved to be too much for Binghamton goalie Kaitlyn Williams as the ball skidded into the back of the net.

“It definitely felt like a weight off of our shoulders, we could finally kind of settle down again,” Kylen Grant said.

Backed by its offensive firepower and command of possession, Syracuse (2-2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) beat Binghamton (0-3-1, 0-0 America East) 2-1. Although it took time for the Orange to regain and eventually hold onto the lead, their relentless offensive attack – which outshot the Bearcats 18-11 – paid off.

Despite struggling to capitalize later in the game, Syracuse’s offense got off to a hot start. Seven minutes into the game, Erin Flurey received a pass and turned towards the middle of the field. As she neared the penalty box, Flurey chipped a pass ahead to an open Ashley Rauch inside the box. Rauch capitalized on the opportunity, giving SU an early 1-0 lead.

While the Orange took a quick lead, Binghamton answered back. Nine minutes after Rauch’s goal, Olivia McKnight found Paige Luke wide-open in the penalty box. With no defenders in front of her, Luke only had to beat Shea Vanderbosch. Luke kept her shot low and to the left, scoring easily.

Looking to break the 1-1 tie in the 27th minute, Syracuse pushed the ball down the field. Mags Thornton dribbled the ball down the middle of the field, and with separation, she unleashed a shot near the 18-yard line. The ball was headed towards the upper part of the goal, but Williams punched the ball over the net leading to SU’s fourth corner of the first half.

The corner was put into a dangerous area, but Williams made another stout play, leaping and hauling in the ball. Despite the Bearcats regaining possession, they quickly lost the ball, and SU again attacked offensively. Flurey controlled the ball near the outer left part of the penalty box and unleashed a shot heading for the top left of the goal, but Williams knocked the ball away.

16 seconds later, Thornton had another opening for a shot, but it skidded off of the right crossbar. This led to a scramble inside the goal area, eventually leading to another SU shot from Hannah Pilley that missed the mark.

“I just thought we panicked,” head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said. “I think we got frustrated. How many times did we hit the crossbar?”

With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, the Orange again pushed the ball down the field, looking to break the tie. Spotting Rupert open deep into Binghamton’s defensive zone in the right corner, Flurey fired the ball to her. The Orange’s attack stalled when the Bearcats knocked the ball out of bounds, but it set up another corner kick.

However, just as she did earlier in the half, Williams corralled the ball, but Binghamton quickly lost possession. The Orange got the ball to Lauher in the 18-yard box, but three defenders quickly swarmed her and she lost the ball.

Although they strung together another stop, the Bearcats failed to clear the ball out of their defensive zone. Syracuse again pressured the goal, with a miss from Kate Murphy leading to a second chance opportunity from Mackenzie Dupre, but her shot clanged off of the crossbar.

The ball landed right in front of the goal, but Binghamton got to the ball first, clearing it away from the penalty box and killing another opportunity for the Orange to take a lead going into halftime.

Although it took the Orange time to put anything together offensively in the second half, their strategy to focus on being more simplistic worked, as Lauher’s goal proved to be the difference in the game.

“As a player I’ve been a part of it, as a coach I’ve been a part of it,” Thrasher Adams said. “It’s definitely one of those where I don’t think we were breathing the entire game and finally get to breathe a little bit… glad we were on the winning side.”

Published on August 27, 2023 at 11:16 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon