Georgetown’s patience kept it in the game, but Syracuse’s won it.
The Hoyas capitalized on a series of defensive Orange blunders to earn an early three-goal lead. Yet Georgetown was subsequently beaten as its own game as Syracuse completed a dynamic comeback.
Alyssa Murray milked the clock down from 10 minutes to four with SU leading 6-5, and the Orange eventually escaped in easily the most drawn-out game of the year.
‘We were playing defense for long periods of time and when that happens, they played it very well,’ SU head coach Gary Gait said. ‘They waited for us for us to make a mistake and give themselves a very good shot.
‘And you know what, it’s going to happen, but on the other side of that, they had some long possessions and we made saves and we got turnovers when we needed them.’
No. 1 seed Syracuse (16-2) won the war of attrition in the Big East tournament semifinal, staving off an upset bid from the fourth-seeded Hoyas (9-8), 7-6, in front of 524 in the Carrier Dome on Thursday night. With the win – the Orange’s 15th straight-it advances to the championship game against No. 2 seed Loyola.
From the opening draw, the Hoyas’ strategy was clear. They were going to hold the ball for extended periods of time during each possession.
After working the ball for more than 3:30, GU attack Caroline Tarzian spun around Kasey Mock on the right side, zipping a shot past the right ear of SU goalkeeper Alyssa Costantino and into the net.
Seven minutes later, Tarzian struck again, benefitting from a costly Natalie Glanell turnover. And with 12 minutes left in the opening frame, GU midfielder Kelsi Bozel put the Hoyas ahead 3-0 after burning Mock down the left alley.
‘It’s just a matter of playing that slow-down style of lacrosse (where) you don’t want to overcommit and make it too easy, but that’s what allowed them to eventually get an open shot once in a while,’ Gait said.’
With eight minutes left in the first half – in Syracuse’s longest scoring draught of the season – Murray finally found the back of the net, ripping a free-position shot past GU goalie Barb Black after over 1:30 of SU possession.
Two more goals in the next 2:08 pulled SU even, and despite heading into halftime down 4-3, the Orange had found its rhythm. It stormed out of the gate with three straight scores in the second half.
But the Hoyas maintained their patient approach.
Roughly 10 minutes into the second half, GU junior attack Dina Jackson spinned by Jill Cammett and drove in from the left doorstep. But rather than taking the wide-open shot, she passed it out to a teammate, and the Hoyas offense reset.
Georgetown head coach Ricky Fried said she was responding to his direct order to hold the ball, despite trailing by two goals at the time.
‘They were told when they could shoot,’ Fried said. ‘We had possession amounts of time that we wanted to possess the ball for and I give her a ton of credit to be disciplined enough not to take the shot even though she could’ve taken the shot. ‘
The Hoyas managed only six second-half shots and had their opportunities limited by the Orange’s patient play late in the game.
Leading 6-5 with just more than 10 minutes remaining, Murray stood on the 20-yard-line, next to the SU sideline. And she stood there for close to six minutes.
‘I think it’s kind of hard as a player to stay in the mindset of focusing just because in my mind when a team does that to us, I just want to get the ball and just score, score, score,’ Murray said. ‘But you have to remember to stay disciplined. Goals will come as a result of play.’
She was right.
Eventually, Fried ordered his defense to apply some pressure. Murray found Bridget Daley cutting down the middle for an uncontested score.
Her goal gave the Orange a 7-5 lead with 2:59 remaining.
Jackson put one by Costantino to bring the Hoyas within one, but they were unable to crack the Orange defense with the little time they had left.
Said Gait: ‘I’m very happy, proud of my players even though it wasn’t their best performance, it was a ‘W.”
sebail01@syr.edu