Syracuse University
Rutgers University
New York's College Team Plays Host to New Jersey
9/15/2011 9:11:02 AM | Field Hockey
Syracuse Game Notes | Rutgers Game Notes | Live Video (Fri) | Live Stats (Fri/Sun)
The fifth-ranked Syracuse University field hockey team (3-2) returns to the friendly confines of J.S. Coyne Stadium for two games this weekend. The Orange opens BIG EAST Conference play against Rutgers (1-4) on Friday, September 16 at 5 p.m. Syracuse also hosts No. 19 Princeton (2-2) on Sunday, September 18 at 2 p.m. The Tigers open Ivy League play at Dartmouth on Saturday, before traveling to Syracuse for Sunday's contest.
Live video and stats of Friday's game will be available at SUAthletics.com. Live stats of Sunday's game can also be found on SUAthletics.com.
The Orange is looking for its second consecutive 5-2 start.
Syracuse Playing the Best
The Orange has never been shy of playing the nation's best. This year is no different as Syracuse has already played the second-ranked team in the country twice in now top-ranked North Carolina and No. 2 Old Dominion.
SU is 3-2 on the season, with both of the losses coming to the Tar Heels and Lady Monarchs. Both of those contests were decided by one goal.
BIG EAST SUccess
Syracuse won its fifth BIG EAST Championship tournament title on Nov. 7, 2010. The Orange defeated No. 4 seed Rutgers, 4-1, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship and shutout No. 3 seed Connecticut, 1-0, in the championship final.
SU clinched the 2010 BIG EAST Regular-Season Championship, going 6-0 in league play, marking the third consecutive regular-season title for the Orange.
The Orange has won a BIG EAST record 14 consecutive and 17 of its last 18 BIG EAST regular-season games. SU last lost a regular-season conference game on October 18, 2008. The previous record was 12-games set by Connecticut (10/17/98-9/22/01).
Series Notes vs. Rutgers
Syracuse meets Rutgers for the 25th time with the Orange boasting an 18-6 advantage. SU has won the last eight meetings including a 4-1 win in the 2010 BIG EAST tournament.
Heather Susek scored twice as Syracuse advanced to the BIG EAST Championship with the win against Rutgers. Linsdey Conrad and Kelsey Millman scored SU's other two goals. Laura Hahnefeldt tallied the lone assist. Syracuse outshot Rutgers, 13-9, and held a 5-3 advantage in penalty corners. Leann Stiver made five saves for SU.
Series Notes vs. Princeton
Syracuse meets Princeton for the 14th time, with Princeton boasting an 11-3 advantage.
The Tigers have won the last three meetings, including a 1-0 win last season in Princeton. SU advanced to its first Final Four in program history with a 3-2 overtime win against Princeton at J.S. Coyne Stadium in 2008 - Syracuse's last victory versus the Tigers.
Princeton's Michelle Cesan scored with 1:10 left on the clock to give Princeton a 1-0 victory against Syracuse at Class of '52 Stadium on Sept. 19, 2010. Both teams tallied 13 shots with Princeton gaining 11 corners to Syracuse's nine. Leann Stiver made seven saves in the loss while Christina Maida made six in the win.
Scouting Syracuse
The fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange (3-2) went 1-1 last weekend. SU defeated RV Ohio State, 2-0, on Sept. 9, but lost, 2-1, to No. 2 Old Dominion on Sept. 10.
Junior forward Kelsey Millman leads the team in scoring with eight points off a team-best tying three goals and a team-high tying two assists. Senior forward Heather Susek has also scored three goals and sophomore midfielder Leonie Geyer is on top of the assists list with Millman with two.
Junior goalkeeper Leann Stiver has played all 350:00 minutes in the cage. She owns a 1.20 goals-against-average and a .800 saves percentage and has produced two shutouts in five games.
Senior midfielder Martina Loncarica now sits tied atop the Syracuse career points chart, tying Maggie Befort. Loncarcia recorded her 120th point on a penalty stroke at 34:53 of the first have in SU's 2-1 loss to No. 2 Old Dominion. The three-time All-American is also first on the all-time assist list with 57.
Loncarica was named the BIG EAST Offensive Preseason Player of the Year. She is joined on the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team by sophomore back Laura Hahnefeldt, Susek and junior back Amy Kee. Loncarica, Hahnefeldt and Susek were all unanimous selections.
Eight different players have scored goals this season for the Orange. Eight different players have also tallied at least one assist for SU.
Syracuse has been ranked in the top 10 for 34 consecutive weeks. SU was ranked 17th on August 28, 2008, but moved up to number seven a week later and has not dropped out of the top 10 since.
Scouting Rutgers
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-4) enter Friday's contest having lost their last four games after opening the season with a victory. RU's losses have come to Delaware (4-2), William & Mary (2-1), Miami of Ohio (3-0) and No. 12 New Hampshire (2-1 ot).
Sophomore forward Gia Nappi and senior midfielder Kat Rodziewicz lead Rutgers with six points each. Nappi has recorded a team-best three goals. Rodziewicz has registered two goals and a team-high two assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Stuby has played all 352:16 minutes in cage. She owns a 2.38 goals-against-average and a .647 saves percentage.
The Scarlet Knights have been outshot, 51-43, but have recorded one more, 34-33, penalty corners than the opposition.
Rutgers was picked to finish fourth in this season's BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Scarlet Knights completed the 2010 campaign with an 8-12 mark, while posting a 2-4 conference record, tying for fourth, en route to its first BIG EAST Tournament appearance since 2003.
RU's lineup returns 10 starters and 17 letterwinners from last year's squad, including Nicole Gentile, the team's 2010 leading goal scorer and point getter. Gentile is one of seven seniors on the Rutgers team in 2011.
Scouting Princeton
The 19th-ranked Princeton Tigers (2-2) will travel to Syracuse for Sunday's game after opening Ivy League play at Dartmouth on Saturday.
Senior Allison Evans leads Princeton in scoring with six points off a team-best three goals. Freshman Sydney Kirby has dished out a team-high four assists.
Sophomore Christina Maida has played three of the four games in cage for the Tigers. She owns a 1.67 goals-against-average and a .643 saves percentage.
The Tigers have scored the same amount of goals (eight) as its opposition, but have taken 10 more shots to do so.
Princeton is just one-for-18 on penalty corners.
The Tigers enter the 2011 campaign looking for their seventh-straight Ivy title, their 20th overall and its 17th in the last 18 years.
Orange At Home
The Orange has been dominating at J.S. Coyne Stadium since fifth-year head coach Ange Bradley took the reins in 2007. Syracuse is 31-5 (.861) overall, including 21-3 (.875) in nonconference games and 10-2 (.800) in BIG EAST games.
The Orange has won its last 17 games at J.S. Coyne Stadium and has only lost twice since the start of the 2008 season.
Last Time Out
Syracuse went 1-1 last weekend, winning 2-0 at RV Ohio State and losing to No. 2 Old Dominion, 2-1.
The Orange used two goals in the last 10 minutes to squeeze out the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at Buckeye Varsity Field on the campus of Ohio State University. Junior forward Kelsey Millman and senior midfielder Liz McInerney both tallied goals as the Orange. Syracuse outshot Ohio State, 14-11, and held an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners. Junior goalkeeper Leann Stiver made three saves in her second shutout of the season.
Senior midfielder Martina Loncarica now sits tied atop the Syracuse career points chart, tying Maggie Befort. Loncarica recorded her 120th point on a penalty stroke at 34:53. It would stand as SU's only goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 2 Old Dominion. The Lady Monarchs outshot Syracuse 10-6 overall and earned four penalty corners to SU's two.
Scoring for the First Time
Junior midfielder Haley Bomboy and freshman midfielder Stephanie Hussey both recorded their first career points in Syracuse's 4-1 victory at No. 11 Wake Forest on Sept. 3.
Bomboy converted her first career goal off a tip-in from the left side off an assist from junior forward Kelsey Millman at 30:54.
Hussey's first career assist was a result of senior forward Heather Susek firing a shot into the cage after taking a Hussey pass at 51:59.
Susek & McInerney Earn BIG EAST Honors
Seniors Heather Susek and Liz McInerney were both named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for their performances against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 11 Wake Forest. The honor is Susek's first and McInerney's second of the season McInerney was also named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29.
Susek scored a goal in each of Syracuse's two games against UNC and Wake.
McInerney was at the front of the Syracuse defense in its two contests versus UNC and Wake. The midfielder also scored SU's second goal of the day. Sophomore back Laura Hahnefeldt sent a ball to the right-side of the cage and McInerney directed it in for a two-goal lead that the Orange would carry into halftime.
McInerney Takes Season's First BIG EAST Honor
Senior midfielder Liz McInerney claimed the first BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award and junior back Amy Kee earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced. The pair helped propel the Orange to a 4-0 season-opening victory versus Monmouth on August 27 at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
McInerney led the Syracuse defense that limited Monmouth to only three shots (one on goal) and three penalty corners. She also provided an assist on SU's third goal of the day.
Kee was Syracuse's main offensive threat in its victory versus Monmouth. Kee scored one goal and recorded a team-high 10 shots, including a team-best tying four shots on goal. She was also instrumental in helping SU preserve the shutout.
Nothing Like Your First Time
Five members of the 2011 team stepped onto the field for the first time in their careers against Monmouth. Freshman forward Stephanie Hussey started the game for Syracuse. Fellow freshmen Lauren Brooks and Jordan Page came off the bench. Redshirt freshman forward Adrian Chambers and junior midfielder Haley Bomboy also played in their first game as a member of the Orange.
BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
Senior midfielder Martina Loncarica was named the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in a vote by the conference's seven head coaches, the league office announced.
The three-time All-American recorded a team-best 29 points off a team-high 11 goals and seven assists last season.
All-BIG EAST Preseason Team
Senior midfielder Martina Loncarica, sophomore back Laura Hahnefeldt, senior forward Heather Susek and junior back Amy Kee were all selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Loncarica, Hahnefeldt and Susek were all unanimous selections.
Hahnefeldt was recognized on the Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-American Second Team last season. The sophomore helped limit SU's opponents to just 1.14 goals per game in 2010.
Susek earned third-team Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-American honors after recording 21 points off nine goals and three assists in 2010.
Kee earned a spot on the Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-Mideast Region First Team in an injury laden season. The junior also tallied 14 points off five goals and four assists in 2010.
BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Poll
The three-time defending champion Orange garnered 32 points, including two first-place votes, and was picked to finish second behind Connecticut. The Huskies received 35 points, including the remaining five first-place votes.
2011/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll
Syracuse received 664 points and a No. 5 ranking in the 2011 Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll. SU ended the season ranked fourth nationally after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. All but five of SU's 19 opponents are either ranked in the top 20 or receiving votes, including four top-10 teams.
