When it first took the field against Binghamton in its season opener Friday, the Syracuse women’s soccer team looked like the same team that lost 11 games last year.

Then something clicked.

After 20 minutes of anxiousness and missed chances, Stephanie Sybert sent a Kristina Cristofori pass into the back of the Bearcat net.

From there on out, Binghamton never had a chance. Getting six points each from Cristofori and Nina Scalzo, the Orangewomen stormed to a 7-1 victory at Syracuse Soccer Stadium, erasing last season’s offensive woes.

Syracuse’s new offensive game plan worked to perfection in its first showing.

Monday, the Orangewomen (2-0) capitalized on their momentum and beat LaSalle, 2-0, in Philadelphia. Shana Thomas and Sybert scored for SU.

Against Binghamton, Syracuse started things right. Cristofori, a sophomore who attended community college last year, matched a school record for points scored in a debut (6) by scoring two goals within four minutes of each other and assisting two others. Scalzo also played well in her return from taking much of last year off, matching Cristofori stat for stat. Natalie Galas, who led Syracuse in scoring last season, and Shana Thomas also scored.

‘Opportunities come,’ Thomas said. ‘We just had great opportunities tonight.’

The team’s five newcomers – Monroe County Community College transfers Cristofori, Thomas and Kelly Bailie, Nebraska transfer junior Helen Fox and freshman Molly McManus – all saw considerable playing time. While all five played well, Crisofori and Thomas stood out.

‘I think we were expecting our new players to come in and (make an) impact and it was good to see them (make an) impact right away in our first game setting,’ assistant coach Tracy Britton said. ‘I think Cristofori and Shana still really read each other well from playing together in the past. Cristofori gave us a great air game in the second half and Shana always gives us speed up top. This is the type of stuff we’re expecting from everyone. We definitely just expected what we saw tonight.’

The rest of the Orangewomen also praised their new teammates.

‘I love it, I think it’s great,’ Scalzo said. ‘And it’s only going to get better. They came in and made an impact and showed us that they can play with us. Shana is ridiculously fast. Not everybody can be that fast. If we play her a ball down the flank, she’s going to be the first one in the Big East to get that ball.’

But the new additions weren’t the only ones responsible for the victory. The Orangewomen defense allowed the SU offense more corner kicks (8) than the Bearcats had shots (7) and it only allowed one goal.

‘The defense played amazing, Scalzo said. ‘We scored because the defense won the ball every time, which created more opportunities for us.’

‘We always train that defense creates offense,’ Britton said. ‘I think our four backs played really well tonight, really smart, getting in and starting the offense themselves a lot of times.’

While happy to start the season off with a few victories, the Orangewomen aren’t about to get cocky.

‘The season’s going to be tough,’ Scalzo said. ‘But we’re ready.’

Published on September 1, 2003 at 12:00 pm