Rutgers' Season Ends At The Hands of No. 5 Syracuse
Apr 25 | Women's Lacrosse
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Rutgers women's lacrosse team fought valiantly but were unable to mount a comeback, falling to No. 5 Syracuse 22-7 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship, Friday evening at historic Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. Rutgers (7-10) held Syracuse (15-2) scoreless for the first 9:07 of the contest, the longest SU has gone without scoring a goal to start a game this season, breaking its previous mark of 8:03.
'I think tonight was a game where we definitely came out fired up,' said head coach Laura Brand. 'We had a distinct game plan in place and we did a good job executing that in the first half. Obviously Syracuse is a very talented team, and they have a lot of great athletes, and when it came down the stretch we couldn't match up consistently for 60 minutes.'
The Orange were led by Christina Dove, who scored a career-high and BIG EAST Championship record seven goals, four in the first half. Sophomore attacker Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.), who Thursday was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, scored twice, as did junior midfielder Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.). The two teams combined for a BIG EAST record 29 goals, breaking the one-year mark of 22, set by Notre Dame and Georgetown in 2007.
RU started the first half strong, opening the game with a goal from Nina Frankoski (Maplewood, N.J.) to take an early 1-0 edge. The Scarlet Knights had many opportunities to add to their lead, but SU's defense withheld the assault, and in the 21st minute the Orange tied the game on a goal from Dove. After its first score, SU tallied four more goals, two by Dove, to build a 5-1 lead, before Cantwell scored on an assist from Meghan Flanagan (Medford, N.J.) to end the scoring streak.
Syracuse found the back of the net four more times to take a 9-2 lead, but then Rutgers made a run of its own, tallying three consecutive goals on shots by Marley Welsh (Jarretsville, Md.), Jennifer Schmitt (Perry Hall, Md.) and Poole to head into halftime down by four, at 9-5.
In that first half, RU led its opponent 9-7 in ground balls and had only 10 turnovers to SU's 12. The Orange also committed 18 fouls in the first half while the Scarlet Knights were whistled only six times. Shots were essentially even, as Rutgers finished the half with 10 and Syracuse recorded 12.
In the second half, however, SU came on strong, scoring three consecutive goals to take a 12-5 lead. The two teams traded goals as Poole and Cantwell each found the back of the net, but with Syracuse holding a 13-7 advantage, the same score as last season's BIG EAST semifinals between the two programs, the Orange reeled off nine consecutive goals, including one with 43 seconds left to go in the game, to win 22-7.
RU had its opportunities to tack on more, including a point blank shot from sophomore Mary Cryan (Newtown Square, Pa.) on a great pass from Cantwell, but SU goalie Liz Hogan was up to the task, recording one of her eight saves. Turnovers hurt the Scarlet Knights in the second half, as they committed 10 to the Orange's four.
Sophomore Karie McGuire (Monrovia, Md.) led the RU defense with a career-high four caused-turnovers, as well as a team-high three ground balls. Sophomores Faith Richards (Montclair, N.J.) and Emily Penn (Medford, N.J.) eachfinished with two ground balls, and Cantwell led the squad with three draw controls. Junior Mallory Tornetta (Frazer, Pa.) finished with two assists to pace RU.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Syracuse Orange
April 25, 2008
Post-game notes:
Freshman midfielder Marley Welsh (Jarretsville, Md.) sang the National Anthem before the game.
Rutgers held Syracuse scoreless for the first 9:07 of the contest, the longest SU has gone without scoring a goal to start a game this season, breaking the previous mark of 8:03.
For the second consecutive season, the Scarlet Knights fell to the Orange in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship. In 2007 SU defeated RU 13-7.
Sophomore Karie McGuire (Monrovia, Md.) finished with a career-high four caused turnovers. Her previous high was three, set twice, most recently in RU's 10-9 overtime win against No. 18 Denver on March 28.
A number of Scarlet Knights set career-highs this season.
-Junior goalie Sandra Abel (Monrovia, Md.), 163 saves this season, her previous high was 115 in 2006.
-Sophomore attacker Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.), 36 goals and 13 assists this season, her previous highs were 22 goals and 12 assists.
-Sophomore midfielder Mary Cryan (Newtown Square, Pa.), 19 goals and 13 assists in 2008, her previous highs were 17 goals and two assists.
-Sophomore attacker Meghan Flanagan (Medford, N.J.), seven goals and 23 assists this year, her previous highs were two goals and 14 assists.
-Sophomore defender Karie McGuire (Monrovia, Md.), 30 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers, her previous highs were six ground balls and three caused turnovers.
-Sophomore defender Emily Penn (Medford, N.J.), 29 caused turnovers in 2008; her previous high was nine.
-Junior midfielder Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.), seven assists, her previous high was five in 2007, she also tied her career-high with 20 goals, set both in 2006 and 2007.
-Junior Mallory Tornetta (Frazer, Pa.), 12 assists, her previous high was 10 in 2007, she also tied her career-high with five goals, previously set in 2007.
-Junior attacker Nina Frankoski (Maplewood, N.J.), six assists, her previous high was five, set in 2007.
-Sophomore defender Jessica Davis (Moorestown, N.J.), 21 caused turnovers and 18 draw controls, her previous highs were 18 caused turnovers and 16 draw controls.
-Junior defender Kathryn Seidman (Baltimore, Md.), 14 ground balls, four draw controls and five caused turnovers, her previous highs were six ground balls and four caused turnovers, both in 2007.
Head Coach Laura Brand
Post-game quotes:
Opening statement:
'I think tonight was a game where we definitely came out fired up. We had a distinct game plan in place and we did a good job executing that in the first half. Obviously Syracuse is a very talented team, and they have a lot of great athletes, and when it came down the stretch we couldn't match up consistently for 60 minutes.'
On Rutgers' play in the first half:
'We were executing our game plan very well. We are a very young team, and that has been our problem all season long, playing in spurts, and not having the ability of executing the game plan consistently. We did a great job of it in the first half and we really were sticking exactly to our game plan. Athletically we were able to keep up and we made a few changes on defense and we were able to stop them. But they made some adjustments and we couldn't keep up with their pace in the second half.'
On Syracuse maintaining possession in the second half:
'Draw controls are very important, possession is the name of the game. So for us not to be able to get the draw control consistently in that time period was a big factor in their spurt.'
On Syracuse having many offensive opportunities:
'Defense is going to get tired. If you are playing defense the entire game, the attack is going to score goals. Our defenders did an awesome job, I don't think the score reflects how well they played today. Karie McGuire really stepped up, she came out and stepped up on defense and really took over the defensive side of the ball in the first half. I think the score truly does not reflect how well the defense played today. We played both goalies today, I give them a lot of credit too. I'm proud of what they did, we did some nice things, but Syracuse is phenomenal team.'
On playing at Notre Dame Stadium:
'Obviously being the first women's varsity sport to play at Notre Dame Stadium is special, and as [Rutgers Senior Associate Athletic Director] Kate Hickey pointed out, we scored the first goal in women's lacrosse in Notre Dame Stadium. It was a great experience, especially with the history here, and we've been treated very well since we got here.'
On Rutgers' defensive game plan:
'We didn't particularly have too many matchups, we really focused on working hard on our one-on-one defense so that we didn't have to slide as much as Syracuse would want us to, but that got away from us a bit in the second half. In the first half we were successful because we were able to shut them down one-on-one, and that limited their options. But in the second half we weren't able to shut them down one-on-one and they did a good job of finding the second cutter.'
On Syracuse scoring nine consecutive goals in the second half:
'I think once a team gets momentum it's hard to get back out of it. Sometimes with a young team, having already played Syracuse this year, there can be a snowball effect, and it can be difficult for the girls to get back into it.'
