They’ve been talking the talk and, so far, they’ve been walking the walk. This weekend, the Syracuse women’s soccer team will square off against two Big East opponents. And the Orangewomen are still talking.

‘We’ve been working so hard that I really feel we can come out 2-0,’ sophomore midfielder Kristina Cristofori said of the two games SU plays this weekend. ‘No problem. The past few days, our practices have been really good, really intense. We’re just really focused.’

There may be a problem, though. After losing to 3-2 at Villanova last weekend, SU (4-1-0, 0-1-0 Big East) started poorly in Big East competition. The Orangewomen will host rivals Georgetown and Virginia Tech on Friday and Sunday, respectively, and their goal is simple. They want to prove they are a team to be reckoned with. And for just the second and third times all year, they’ll have a home crowd to back them.

‘We definitely want to come out with two wins,’ senior defender and co-captain Erica Mastrogiacomo said. ‘Seeing that we lost our first Big East game, it would be nice to have these two games under our belt with a win. We just need to raise the morale in the Big East a little bit and just show them that we’ve arrived.’

They’ll get their first shot Friday at 4 p.m. against Georgetown (1-5-0, 0-1-0 Big East).

‘We’ve always done well against Georgetown in the past,’ Mastrogiacomo said. ‘We can beat them and should beat them.’

But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. Georgetown’s 4-4-2 alignment means that some of SU’s players will have to change their assignments. But Syracuse won’t have to vary too far from its normal style.

‘It’s more them changing to our style,’ Cristofori said. ‘We’re just as big a threat to them as they are to us.’

The Orangewomen’s hot start this season makes them equally as confident for their game Sunday at 1 p.m. against Virginia Tech (4-2-0)

‘We lost to Virginia Tech last year, but it was a really close game.’ Mastrogiacomo said of last year’s 2-1 loss. ‘That’s another opponent we should beat.’

If SU’s confidence won’t do the trick by itself, playing in front of a home crowd should give Syracuse the boost it needs.

‘It’s such a good environment to play at home,’ senior forward Nina Scalzo said. ‘Even though we don’t have that many fans, they’re good fans. At other places, they harass us. They’ll yell at me if they went to my high school, and then just random jerks will make fun of you if you’re wearing a headband or wearing your socks funny. But these games are going to be fun because it’s a home crowd.’

For some of the Orangewomen, playing in front of the home crowd may be a little bit intimidating.

‘I’m really excited and nervous because both games are at home,’ Cristofori said. ‘We really haven’t had a lot of home games, so we’re going to have a big crowd. I know that because of the two games, everyone’s families are coming down this weekend. I just want to play well.’

If the Orangewomen play well, they’ll be able to keep talking the talk. And for now, at least, they don’t plan on stopping.

‘Anything can happen,’ Mastrogiacomo said. ‘But after this weekend, our record for this month should definitely be a wining record.’

Published on September 18, 2003 at 12:00 pm