Second Half Surge Lifts No. 10 Field Hockey to Opening Win

Friday, August 26

New Haven, Conn.

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

(1-0, 0-0)

Sacred Heart University

(0-1, 0-0)

Syracuse

Sacred Heart

Second Half Surge Lifts No. 10 Field Hockey to Opening Win

8/26/2022 4:00:00 PM | Field Hockey

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Behind a five-goal second half, the Syracuse field hockey team, ranked 10th in the Preseason NFHCA Coaches' Poll, surged past host Sacred Heart by a 5-0 count Friday afternoon at Yale's Johnson Field.

No. 10 Syracuse (1-0) got five goals from five different sources, led by three-point days from newcomers Sam Swart in her Syracuse field hockey debut, and graduate student Sabine van den Eijnden. Rookie Lana Hamilton added another two points with two helpers. Cuse goalie Brooke Borzymowski made one save on the Pioneers' only shot on goal for a season-opening shutout.

Sacred Heart (0-1) got nine saves from starting netminder Samantha Maresca and one defensive save from Mira Poezler, who led the Pioneers with two total shots. She was halted on her only shot on goal by Borzymowski.

How it Happened

Syracuse, picked second in the Preseason ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish, came out firing, putting five of the first eight shots on goal. Maresca stopped all five would-be goals in the first half, including four in the opening frame.
Both sides had one penalty corner, both coming in the second quarter as the two sides played to a 0-0 score after 30 minutes.
Borzymowski made her only save of the day in the second quarter.
Making adjustments at the break, Syracuse continued to pour on the offense, launching 12 total shots in the second half, including seven in the third quarter alone.
The Orange broke through in the 34th minute as Charlotte de Vries put away her 27th career goal. Once the Orange scored, the floodgates opened.
Freshman Lieke Leeggangers scored her first career goal in the 37th minute, putting away a pass from classmate Lana Hamilton.
After the rookies had their moment, two graduate students, Quirine Comans and van den Eijnden connected for a 3-0 lead and the third Orange goal in a five-minute stretch.
Swart had a hand in the final two goals, sliding a pass over for van den Eijnden in the 51st minute before scoring herself in the 57th minute, finishing a feed from Hamilton.
The Orange offense kept the pressure on while the defensive side allowed just one Pioneer chance in the 53rd from Poezler, but the chance went wide for the shutout.

Behind the Numbers

Syracuse out-shot the Pioneers 20-3, putting 15 chances on goal. Sacred Heart was limited to just one shot in each of the first, second and fourth quarters, and just one shot on goal. Borzymowski was equal to the task for her one save on the day.
The Orange showed some depth, getting three goals off the bench (Swart, Leeggangers, van den Eijnden) as starters de Vries and Comans tipped home goals. Four of the five Orange strikes were assisted, backed by a pair from Hamilton and one each from van den Eijnden and Swart.
The Orange collected eight penalty corners, including seven in the second half. Sacred Heart was awarded one chance in the second quarter.
Syracuse improved to 15-1 in season openers under head coach Ange Bradley, who began her 16th year at the helm. The Orange are now 2-0 all-time against Sacred Heart, out-scoring the Pioneers 12-0 over the last two seasons.
Since 1978, the Orange are now 32-13 all-time in season openers, including a 12-7 mark in true road games to open the year in that span.
Syracuse is 5-0 all-time when playing on August 26, all coming under the guidance of Bradley.

Quotables: Head Coach Ange Bradley

It was a full team effort today. I'm happy with the way we made adjustments in the second half. We're looking forward to competing again tomorrow against Vermont.
I'm proud of the fact that five different people scored. I'm happy that our system is starting to move in the right direction to set up those scorers. We had four players get their first points for the Orange today.
I'm really happy with how they came back in the second half and made those adjustments.

Up Next for Syracuse

The Orange return to Johnson Field on Saturday for a noon showdown against Vermont.
Saturday's game will be carried on NEC FrontRow. Live stats will also be available. All links can be found on Cuse.com and the team's official social media accounts (@cuseFH).
Syracuse and Vermont lineup for the 14th time in series history. The Orange hold a 10-3 overall record, including three straight wins.
The Orange topped the Catamounts 6-0 last season at home. This will mark the first time since 1983-92 that Syracuse and Vermont will play in back-to-back seasons.