Charlotte de Vries couldn’t contain her excitement. After scoring a game-winning breakaway goal to defeat No. 2 Duke, she screamed as her teammates mobbed her. 

The Orange, after failing to topple No. 5 Virginia last week, defeated the second-best team in the nation on the road on Friday night.

Following last Friday’s 2-0 loss when Syracuse outshot the Cavaliers, freshman Olivia Graham was positive. Graham, obviously disappointed by the defeat, knew that by outplaying UVA for three quarters, SU showed that it could compete with the nation’s best. 

“It’s a loss for us but we can also see that we have a lot of potential,” Graham said. 

The Orange showed that once again on Friday. No. 19 Syracuse (7-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) defeated Duke (7-1, 0-1) 2-1 in Durham, North Carolina. In the first half, SU was dominated, outshot 13-1 and allowed Duke’s only goal to Haley Schleicher. But the Orange adjusted and improved in the second, tallying seven shots to Duke’s nine.

With under seven minutes remaining, Claire Cooke scored the Orange’s first goal. After Duke fouled SU in the circle, she deflected in junior Carolin Hoffmann’s shot from a penalty corner.

The Orange didn’t relent in the first overtime, only being outshot by one. And then in the second overtime period, when both teams were gasping for air, the ball fell to de Vries right outside the shooting circle. With a clear one-on-one, she evaded Duke goalkeeper Sammi Steele and fired a shot into the back of the net.

SU missed the NCAA tournament last year for the first time since 2007. With its win today, Syracuse tallied the win it needed to be in postseason contention this time around.

Published on September 27, 2019 at 7:33 pm

Contact Adam: adhillma@syr.edu | @_adamhillman