Syracuse University
No. 10 Boston University
Second-Half Outburst Leads Orange By BU
3/4/2009 6:13:52 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Box Score | Gary Gait Quotes | Player Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Fifth-ranked Syracuse used a second-half offensive explosion to defeat No. 10 Boston University, 17-8, on Wednesday, Mar. 4 in the Carrier Dome. The Orange outscored the Terriers, 12-1, in the second half, helping Syracuse overcome a two-goal halftime deficit.
“I thought today was a great opportunity for us to rebound after our weekend performance (against Virginia),” said head coach Gary Gait. “I think we saw a little bit of the aftereffects in the first half of the way we played against Virginia. All of the things that we have been working on all week came through in the second half. I think our team stepped up to the next level. I am looking forward to that to continue as we move forward.”
Boston University (2-1) jumped out to an early lead with four straight goals to open the game. Senior Katie Rowan put Syracuse (4-1) on the scoreboard when she converted a free position attempt at the 17:31 mark. Rowan's goal sparked the Orange on a 4-0 scoring run, which featured goals by Christina Dove , Bridget Looney and two by Rowan, that tied the score at 4-4 with 11:56 remaining. The Terriers regained the lead with three consecutive goals, capped by McKinley Curro's third goal of the half, which gave BU a 7-4 advantage with 5:15 left on the clock. Looney scored the final goal of the half off a restart with five seconds remaining, cutting BU's lead to 7-5 at halftime.
Dove sparked Syracuse's comeback, netting the first two goals of the second half to tie the score, 7-7, with 19:29 remaining. Sophomore Halley Quillinan's goal at the 18:40 mark gave Syracuse the lead for good as it recorded eight unanswered goals. Dove had three goals during the run, while Quillinan and senior Megan Mosenson each had two. After the Terriers recorded their first goal of the half with 8:33 remaining, the Orange scored four straight to end the contest, including Looney's free position goal with three second left, to give Syracuse a 17-8 victory.
Dove led all scorers with five points (4g, 1a), while Rowan and Looney had four points as each recorded three goals and one assist. Mosenson posted a hat trick, and senior Awehiyo Thomas and junior Breanna Stiff each netted a goal. Thomas also had an assist, as did junior Sarah Sedgwick. Curro led Boston University with three goals.
The Orange outshot the Terriers, 33-18, and held a 20-17 advantage in ground balls. Syracuse won 19-of-26 draw controls, and the Orange defense caused a season-high 20 turnovers. Sophomore goalkeeper Liz Hogan made four saves, giving her 203 in her career. She is the fourth goalkeeper in Syracuse history to record 200 saves in her career. Rachel Klein made eight saves in goal for Boston University.
Syracuse will have 10 days off before it opens BIG EAST play on Saturday, Mar. 14 at Connecticut at 1 p.m. The Orange is the defending conference champion and was unanimously picked to win the BIG EAST title in 2009 in a preseason vote by the league's head coaches.
