#4 Orange Blanks #18 UMass 4-0 in Home Opener

Sunday, September 6

J.S. Coyne Stadium

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

(4-0)

#18 Massachusetts

(2-2)

UMass

Syracuse

9/6/2015 3:47:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Alma Fenne and Emma Russell each record four points in the win

Graduate student Alma Fenne scored a goal and chipped in a pair of assists, while senior Emma Russell scored twice as the No. 4 Syracuse field hockey team secured a 4-0 win over No. 18 UMass in the team's home opener.

The Orange (4-0) blanked the Minutewomen (2-2) by controlling possession for the majority of the game and allowing just five shots and only one after halftime.

"It was fun," said head coach Ange Bradley regarding the team's first home game of 2015. "It's nice to be home and have only one game this weekend after playing three games in four games while being on the road for seven days last week."

The combination of Fenne and Russell accounted for the first three Orange goals.

Russell got the scoring started just over 14 minutes into the contest when her and Fenne capitalized on a give-and-go, where the duo broke down the UMass defense and Fenne rifled a quick pass to Russell after drawing the final defender, which Russell buried past goalkeeper Sam Carlino.

It was the only goal of the half, sending Syracuse to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

However, it wouldn't take long for the Orange to break the game open, as the Fenne to Russell connection struck again seven minutes into the second half.

"We just had to be patient," Bradley said. "When a team drops back into a half-field press it's up to us to decide when to play forward so we're not putting ourselves in counter situations and we kept moving the ball. The more the ball moves the more their defensive set had to move, so that opened things up for us in the second half after we kept the ball moving."

Fenne found Russell with a pass through the UMass defense leading to a breakaway for Russell. The goal was Russell's third of the season and 45th of her career, two behind Lindsey Conrad for the program's all-time goals scored record.

Russell also moved into a tie with Leonie Geyer for fourth on the program's all-time points list at 110 with the two goals on the afternoon.

Less than two minutes after Russell's goal, Fenne scored one of her own after collecting a UMass turnover and firing a hard shot past Carlino for the score.

Sophomore Roos Weers, who helped preserve the shutout with a defensive save in the first half closed out the Orange scoring with just under-20 minutes to go in the game.

After Syracuse was awarded a penalty corner, sophomore Laura Hurff inserted the ball to senior Alyssa Manley who pushed it along to Weers. Weers then rifled a shot into the back of the cage for the final tally.

Syracuse out-shot UMass 20-5 on the day, with senior goalkeeper Jess Jecko needing to make just one save for her second shutout on the year.

Next up, Syracuse will host No. 2 North Carolina in the ACC opener. Action will get underway at 1 p.m. at J.S. Coyne Stadium. The game will be an 'Orange Out,' with fans encouraged to sport orange for the day and the first 100 fans in attendance will be provided with free pom-poms to cheer on 'Cuse.