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Alyssa Abramson stumbled when pressured by Ellie Farrell on the left side, unable to receive the pass from Ashley Rauch. Farrell pushed the ball for a fast break and carried the ball past midfield, sending a ball to a wide-open Sophie Maltese.

Maltese approached the box defended by Kylen Grant before crossing the ball to the middle. The ball missed its initial target, Natalie Mitchell, but came to the feet of Emma Pelkowski. She fired a shot at the net before Grace Frankling deflected the ball. The save wasn’t enough, and Virginia Tech scored its fourth goal of the game just three minutes into the second half.

Syracuse’s (2-8-1, 0-3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) defense struggled in a 4-0 loss to Virginia Tech (5-3-3, 2-1-0 ACC). The Hokies outshot the Orange 21-9, including 12 on target. Struggling with both Virginia Tech’s defense and its own passing, Syracuse dropped its third game of conference play.

Syracuse conceded the first goal six minutes into the game. Grace Gillard was the first to a long free kick from the Hokies but couldn’t make the clear. The ball fell to Pelkowski, who juked out Gillard to create space. She fired a shot to the top right corner.

In the 25th minute, Erin Flurey tried to control the ball while surrounded by three defenders. Flurey was forced to deliver the ball to Franklin on her right but lost a 50-50 battle with Pelkowski for possession. Anna Weir launched a shot on Virginia Tech’s counter-attack, which was deflected over the bar for a corner.

The ensuing corner was cleared by Syracuse, but Pelkowski controlled the ball in the center of the field. Pelkowski picked her head up as Micthell made a darting run through Syracuse’s defense. Pelkowski split Syracuse’s center backs, hitting Mitchell in stride, before she rounded Shea Vanderbosch in net.

Syracuse conceded again just a minute before halftime. The Orange pressed high up the field for a free kick, but Virginia Tech successfully cleared the ball, springing an attack. Gillard tried to slow down Weir as she came forward with the ball, but fell when trying to poke the ball away, giving Weir a clear lane to the goal. The attacker dribbled down to the left flank of the box, bending a shot to the right of the net.

Syracuse’s attack struggled to string passes together under Virginia Tech’s pressure while the Hokies dominated the ball.

In the 47th minute, Syracuse earned a free kick from 25-yards out, but Aysia Cobb’s cross was blocked away by Victoria Haugen. Rauch tried keeping the attack alive, but was swarmed by two defenders, losing possession. Virginia Tech came down the other end of the field along the right side. A cross aimed for two Hokie attackers in the box was cleared to the edge of the 18. Pelkowski took the shot, putting the Hokies up 4-0.

Published on September 24, 2023 at 6:42 pm