Rutgers Drops BIG EAST Opener at Syracuse
Sep 15 | Field Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Rutgers dropped a 2-1 decision at Syracuse on Friday evening in collegiate field hockey action. It was the BIG EAST opener for both squads.
The Scarlet Knights move to 4-3 on the year while the Orange improve to 6-1.
'We had a lot of momentum in the first half and continued it through the second half of play,' head coach Liz Tchou said after the game. 'We tied it up early in the second half and the team really pulled it together and played hard. The girls never gave up.'
Senior Cat Badolato noted, 'We completely dominated the game, we played a beautiful game of field hockey. We have things we need to fix, finishing the ball for one. Everything else is coming together. Today, should have been a win.'
The Orange put the first point on the board, just prior to the half. With 11 seconds to go before intermission, Gloria Nantulya scored on a deflected shot off a penalty corner.
The Scarlet Knights responded three and half minutes into the second half. Junior Amy Lewis (Hainesport, N.J.) converted a penalty corner for her ninth goal of the year, tying the score at 1-1. Assists were credited to Corinne Bach (Moorestown, N.J.) and Melissa Bowman (Ronks, Pa.).
The score remained knotted until the 54th minute of play when Nantulya found the cage off a pass from Maggie Befort from the right side.
RU held both the advantage in penalty corners (10-7) and shots (14-10). In addition, the Scarlet Knights recorded eight shots on goal compared to five for the Orange.
Tchou added, 'Confidence-wise, it does help the girls. However, you really want to get that first BIG EAST win. We are going to take each game as it comes. One game at time, Cornell next and then we get another opportunity at a BIG EAST team on Friday in Villanova.'
The Scarlet Knights travel to Cornell on Sunday for a 12:00 p.m. showdown with the Big Red.
