Throughout much of the second half of the Syracuse women’s lacrosse game yesterday, fans at the Carrier Dome might have guessed the timekeeper fell asleep. Or maybe the Syracuse-Colgate game was going too long, impeding on the SU men’s team in the second matchup of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The clock continued to tick away after referees whistled the play dead and after goals, too.

Neither guess was true, though. The clock was running because of the seldom-used mercy rule. After SU senior Cristine Doran scored at 17:40 of the second half, putting SU ahead 17-7, the rule went into effect. The rule, which states that the clock will run continuously when there is a lead of 10 or more goals except in the last minute of play, was implemented for most of the remainder of the game.

‘Ah, the mercy rule …,’ SU head coach Lisa Miller said. ‘I’d like to see some of my kids get a little more experience, but I also understand lacrosse is such a high-scoring game. It can really get away from you.’

About three minutes later, the clock stopped after Colgate senior Becky Ortolano scored, cutting the lead down to nine goals. It ran again two minutes later, then stopped and started again until the final minute of play when it stopped after every whistle.

Still, Miller saw most of her kids get experience. Freshmen Gaddy Fortune and Emily Petley received their first action of the season and 24 out of the 27 Orangewomen on the roster played in the game.

Said Miller: ‘It’s nice to get a lot of people involved and have all that hard work in practice pay off.’

Coming alive

After her senior season as an All-American at Winchester High School in Massachusetts, Melody Agnew was a highly anticipated recruit for the Orangewomen. But because of Syracuse’s depth at midfield, Agnew only appeared in three games as a freshman, registering no goals and no assists.

This year, Agnew is getting plenty of chances to succeed and she’s making the most of them. She recorded three goals and one assist Tuesday against Colgate, career-highs in both categories.

‘I’ve felt more comfortable out there,’ Agnew said. ‘I was more open today. Other teams scout Leigh-Ann (Zimmer) and Monica (Joines) and Danielle (Lillis). A lot of teams double-up on them and it opens it up for me.’

Agnew is now fifth on the team in points and sixth in shots.

‘If you ask our defensive unit, they hate covering Mel in practice,’ Miller said. ‘Mel is always moving 100 miles an hour so she gets free quite a bit. She’s doing the work.’

Unbreakable

On Saturday, Syracuse improved to 7-0 lifetime against Connecticut. After Tuesday’s 21-9 thrashing of Colgate, the Orangewomen have the same record against the Raiders.

In six of the seven matchups, the Orangewomen have won by eight or more goals.

‘They’re fast, they’re big, they’re strong,’ Colgate head coach Katrina Silva said. ‘They have all the good qualities you love in a lacrosse team. Give (SU head coach Lisa Miller) a lot of credit.’

While Miller enjoys competitive games, she said that Colgate is improving every year.

‘It makes sense to play against Colgate,’ she said. ‘We have quite a few local kids and so do they. It’s good for the local community to play Colgate and Cornell. It’s the backyard brawls.’

This and that

The Orangewomen’s 21 goals against Colgate are the most they’ve had in any game this season. They were two off their all-time record of 23, though. … The only low point of the game for SU took place with eight and half minutes in the first half. After a foul on a draw control, sophomore Stephanie Walker threw the ball into the middle of the field, hitting senior Leigh-Ann Zimmer on the backside. … Colgate is one of only two New York state opponents for SU. The Orangewomen will play at Cornell on April 27.

Published on March 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm