No. 10 ’Cuse, No. 14 Harvard Combine for 11 Goals

Sunday, October 1

Cambridge, Mass.

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

(8-3)

Harvard

(7-3)

Syracuse

Harvard

No. 10 ’Cuse, No. 14 Harvard Combine for 11 Goals

10/1/2023 3:52:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – It was all offense in Greater Boston on Sunday as No. 10 Syracuse University field hockey and No. 14 Harvard combined for 11 goals at Berylson Field. Ultimately, host Harvard won 6-5 with a goal in the 55th minute.

In addition to the 11 goals, the game featured five lead changes and four ties.

The five Orange goals came from four different sources. Eefke van den Nieuwenhof was the lone Syracuse (8-3) player with multiple goals, converting her fourth penalty stroke of the year in the 53rd minute to tie the game 5-5. Willemijn Boogert added a goal and an assist for the Orange as well.

Harvard (7-3) had two goals from Bronte-May Brough while Emily Guckian finished with a goal and two assists. Tessa Shahbo made eight saves in the win for the Crimson.

How it Happened

Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute on a Sage Piekarski goal, fed over from Avery Donahue.
Late in the first quarter, Syracuse buried two goals in a 19 second span as Boogert inserted a corner to Sienna Pegram's stick stop, setting up a blast from van den Nieuwenhof to tie the game 1-1. Right off the restart, Pieke van de Pas hackhanded a cross in front of the goal, allowing a Boogert tip in for a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes.
Three and a half minutes into the second quarter, Harvard tied the game for a second time on Guckian's goal, another Donahue assist.
Another three minutes later saw the Orange take a 3-2 lead as Cato Schreinemacher corralled a rebounded shot, burying her second goal in as many games.
Harvard pushed home two goals in the final 90 seconds of the half for a 5-3 lead. The Crimson battery of Brough, Guckian, and Smilla Klas scored first before Donahue's first goal of the season ended the half with Harvard on top.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Orange punched in two more goals within a three minute span as de Vries finished a rebounded corner chance slid over from van de Pas. Two minutes later, van den Nieuwenhof wristed home her second penalty stroke goal of the weekend, pulling Syracuse back even at 5-5.
Brough pushed home the game-winning goal in the 55th minute, finishing a feed from Guckian.
The Orange had three shots on goal after the final Harvard goal, but Shahbo was equal to all three. With zero seconds on the clock, Syracuse had a chance with three penalty corners in a row, but could not find the backboard, dropping the 6-5 decision.

Behind the Numbers

Syracuse's potent offense out-shot the Crimson 17-8, putting 13 chances on goal. Syracuse out-shot Harvard 15-6 in the final 45 minutes of the game, including an 8-2 advantage in the second half.
One of the best teams in the country at drawing penalty corners, Syracuse picked up nine chances, including four in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Van den Nieuwenhof improved to four-for-four on penalty strokes this season, netting her second of the weekend after scoring the double overtime game-winner Friday afternoon at No. 12 Boston College.
Brooke Borzymowski played in 45 minutes for the Orange, starting the first half and playing the fourth quarter. Abby Neitch played in net for the third quarter. Borzymowski made one save. Shahbo stopped eight would-be Syracuse scoring chances on the other end of the field.

Up Next for Syracuse

Next weekend is the ACC bye week for Syracuse.
The No. 10 Orange play once next week, heading for Central New Jersey next Sunday to clash at Princeton.
Game time at Bedford Field is set for Noon on ESPN+.
Syracuse and Princeton met twice last season, splitting the results. The Tigers won 5-1 in early September before Syracuse ended Princeton's season with a 5-2 win to open the 2022 NCAA Tournament.