The Orange Prevails 2-0 In Home-Opener

Friday, September 7

Syracuse, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Fairleigh Dickinson

Chelsea Berry's game-winning goal was the first of her career.

9/7/2007 10:28:20 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Goals by sophomore midfielder Chelsea Berry and senior midfielder Jen Taormina gave the Orange a 2-0 home-opening victory against Fairleigh Dickinson Friday night at the SU Soccer Stadium. The Orange improves to 2-1 on the year, while the Knights move to 0-3.

"Winning our home-opener the way we did is a big deal for us," head coach Pat Farmer said. "At halftime I told the team that these were the types of games we couldn't finish last year. In the second half we were able to get two big goals, get the shutout and close the game."

The Orange, which is 8-2-2 all-time in home-openers, applied pressure early and shots by Berry and senior forward Lauren Jentzen less then two minutes into the contest tested Fairleigh Dickinson goalkeeper Rachel Derrico, who made the saves.

The majority of the first half was played in Syracuse's offensive end as SU finished the half with 11 shots compared to Fairleigh Dickinson's four.

At 67:01 Taormina took a corner kick from the left side and found Berry just inside the right side of the box. Berry's shot found the back of the net for her first career goal. The assist was Taormina's first of the season.

"Usually on corners I stay back on defense but (Lauren) Cappelli took the corner so I stepped," Berry said. "When the ball was in the air I called for it and when it came, I chested it and volleyed into the goal."

Taormina added to the SU advantage less than four minutes later when she received the ball at midfield. She used her speed to race past a Knight defender and then fired a shot into the top right corner of the net. The goal was her team-best second of the season, giving her a team-high five points.

"I saw and opening and decided to play the ball," Taormina said. "I usually look to pass but we have been practicing one-on-ones in practice and I decided to go for it. It just shows the hard work our team is putting in is paying off."

Sophomore goalkeeper Eliza Bennett-Hattan made one save for her first shutout of the season. She is fifth on Syracuse's career-shutout list and her career .848 save percentage places her third.

Syracuse held the advantage in corners 11-1 and outshot Fairleigh Dickson 23-5, the most shots since posting 23 against Binghamton during the fourth game of last year.

The Orange stays at home to host Rhode Island on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action via livestats through suathletics.com