As a California shot deflected into the Syracuse goal, leveling the match at two, it appeared Syracuse was headed to its fourth straight overtime at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

SU head coach Ange Bradley called timeout, she said, to settle down her team. She wanted to avoid overtime.

“I think it refocused us,” Bradley said. “It reminded us of our key points. We had some cards that we had to reorganize and sort out.”

After taking a two goal lead early in the second half, the Orange’s advantage vanished in four minutes. Cal tied the game, until Chiara Gutsche put the Orange ahead for good, saving No. 13 Syracuse (8-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) in a 4-2 win over California (3-8, 0-1 America East) Sunday.

“We wanted to start with a fresh start in October and we’re 2-0,” senior Roos Weers said. “We lost control today but we need to stay focused and stay tuned in going forward.”

Just before halftime, Syracuse scored a textbook penalty corner goal. Peyton Kemp earned a corner with a little over a minute to go. The Orange turned to Carolin Hoffmann, its typical inserter. She inserted the ball to Kira Wimbert, who steadied it for Weers.

Weers, as she’s done so often this season, scored with a flick into the corner of the goal. After Syracuse was outshot 5-2 in the first half, the scoreboard read 1-0 in favor of SU.

Quickly out of the break, Gutsche doubled the lead with a backhand top-shelf finish. Moments earlier, she turned and looked for teammates, but there were none there. She wound up a backhand shot, and let loose a shot into the top corner. She threw both of her hands in the air and cheered.

Syracuse’s first two-goal lead in five games didn’t last. A counter-attack gave the Golden Bears an odd-man rush, and Megan Rodgers fired a shot in the air. It was headed slowly towards the goal when California’s Melina Moore swatted the ball into the net.

Two minutes later, Cal earned another penalty corner and forced a save from goalie Borg van der Velde. The chaotic chase for the rebound found the foot of an SU player, leading to another corner.

That corner leveled the match. Syracuse was left stunned after the ball skirted through traffic, deflecting last off the stick of Megan Rodgers.

California scored its first goal while Claire Webb served her yellow card penalty, and the Golden Bears finished their second goal moments after she re-entered. In those five minutes, while Webb was out, Syracuse played down a player, and it showed in the run of play.

Syracuse received four green cards, a 2-minute penalty, and two yellow cards, a 5-minute penalty, on the afternoon, the most its received of either this season.

Bradley shouted for SU to win a corner the next time it re-entered the circle, and it did. The Orange went to its favorite corner routine. Hoffmann inserted, Weers corralled the ball and shot.

This time, California goalie Natalie Dalton was up to the challenge. She made the save, but the rebound spilled directly in front of goal. As the Orange practice every day, Gutsche slid the rebound past Dalton for her second goal. The game was tied for two minutes and 32 seconds.

Syracuse added an insurance goal later in the half, an almost exact replica of the third goal. The Orange earned a corner. Hoffmann inserted, Weers attempted a shot on goal, and Dalton made the save.

Yet again, California couldn’t clear. Sophomore Claire Cooke, after scoring her first collegiate goal on Friday, poked the ball past Dalton with her arm outstretched. She came to the bench one minute later to be subbed off. Bradley put her arm around the sophomore and smiled.

Sunday, the Orange didn’t need extra time, a relief for their head coach.

“It’s good for Ange’s blood pressure,” Weers said.

Bradley added: “My doctor thanks them.”

Published on October 7, 2018 at 7:26 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo