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Harvard outside back Jade Rose whipped a right-footed cross from the right of the 18-yard box to the middle of the six-yard box. Ava Lung tipped the ball to the left of the box.

Hannah Bebar met the ball with a right-footed one-touch to blast the ball into the top left corner for her second goal in 11 minutes and the Crimson’s third in 13 minutes. SU goalie Shea Vanderbosch stood with her hands on her head.

Syracuse (2-5-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell to Harvard (3-1-1, 0-0-0 Ivy League Conference) 5-2 on Thursday. The explosive Harvard attack scored early and often to secure the home win.

Following consecutive shutouts in the Orange’s last two matches to UMass and Cornell, Syracuse entered the third road contest of a five-game away stretch. Offensive struggles have kept the team down while the defense has held strong.

On Thursday night, neither the offense nor the defense could positively contribute in the first half.

The Crimson offense found its groove in a 13′ window that would ultimately decide the game. The first 12 minutes of the match featured the same play style from Syracuse in its first six games. A lack of possession in the midfield and offensive third caused its demise.

At the 12′ mark, Harvard first found the back of the net. Smith Hunter raced down the right sideline hoping to beat SU defender Kate Murphy to the ball. Hunter circled around the ball just before the end line to get power behind the ensuing pass. It floated over multiple SU defenders and Vanderbosch directly to the head of Lung. She and Syracuse defender Kylen Grant both jumped at the ball.

The taller Lung met the ball in the air and headed it past Vanderbosch to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Harvard found the frame again. After a broken-down SU attempt at possessing the ball in the middle third, first-year player Ólöf Kristinsdóttir faked a shot and dished the ball to her right. Midfielder Gabby Delpico drew the defender and then gave a one-touch right back to Kristinsdóttir. She took a touch and then delivered a pass directly to Bebar’s right foot.

Bebar pushed the ball to her left foot and took a spinning left-footed shot around the penalty kick shot. The shot beat a diving Vanderbosch and landed in the bottom right corner of the net. Just 15 minutes in, the Orange were again in a deep deficit.

At the 23′ mark in the first half, the Crimson offense stayed hot. Bebar added her second goal of the game with 19:30 left in the first half to give Harvard a 3-0 lead.

The Syracuse struggle was once again making the extra pass. The build-out of the back was overall more consistent when compared to past games. The SU outside backs and center backs continuously rotated and created space by spreading the width of the turf.

Once SU played the ball through the defensive third to the next zone, the team found conflict within the midfield. When the Crimson delivered on-ball pressure, Syracuse players forced the ball out quickly to tight windows. By creating 50/50 balls through bad passes, possession was often lost.

Eventually, late in the second half, the Orange started to make the extra pass and score a few goals. With multiple Harvard starters on the sideline, the offensive attack went to work.

Kendyl Lauher fought off her defender along the right flank to get the edge. She played the ball to the top of the six where Anna Rupert tapped the ball past goalie Anna Karpenko. The goal was the first for the Orange since the October 27 win against Binghamton. Erin Flurey would add a second goal for Syracuse six minutes later.

Harvard’s persistent attack was represented on the stat sheet as the Crimson had eight corners to SU’s two and 13 shots on goal to SU’s four.

Vanderbosch again totaled a large save total as she was peppered with shots. Although she conceded five goals, Vanderbosch finished the game with eight saves.

Early in the second half, substitute Susie Long ripped a curling left-footed shot from outside of the box into the top right corner. While SU would add two goals and the Crimson would add another, the game was already decided. Long’s goal was the exclamation point for Harvard and the nail in the coffin for Syracuse.

Published on September 7, 2023 at 9:36 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky