Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley’s weekly e-mail to players looked more like the Help Wanted section of a newspaper this week. Bradley and her staff were looking for someone to step up. The reward was a starting position.

‘I told the forwards at the beginning of the week that the starting jobs are up for grabs,’ Bradley said. ‘And whoever competes the most will earn the starting spot this week.’

Bradley’s ad was answered by a trio of young players – freshmen Nicole Nelson, Mariana Vernet and Kahli Vojkovic – who helped propel the No. 3 Orange (17-1) to two home victories during the weekend. Syracuse shut out Villanova, 5-0, Friday and edged No. 14 Boston College, 3-1, Sunday. Friday’s win locked up a berth in the Big East Tournament in two weeks.

Against the Wildcats, Vernet and Nelson replaced sophomore forwards Kristin Girouard and Shelby Schraden in the starting lineup and wasted no time putting their mark on the game.

Vernet and Nelson went on an all-out attack, putting pressure on the opposing defenders, forcing Wildcat defenders into errant passes, causing turnovers and, eventually, creating goals for the Orange.

‘They (pressured) really well,’ Bradley said. ‘And they’re getting better at it every day.’

It took the freshman duo only five minutes for its aggressive play to pay dividends. With the ball just outside of Villanova’s 18-yard arc, Nelson and Vernet double-teamed a Wildcat defender. Taking the only open space she was given, the defender slid a pass to the middle of the field where senior midfielder Shannon Taylor was waiting to intercept it.

Taylor took the sloppy pass, stepped two feet inside the circle and drilled a shot, giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead.

‘They’re doing really well,’ sophomore forward Lindsey Conrad said of Vernet and Nelson. ‘They’re moving with the midfielders, so it’s working out. I think we move off each other well.’

The two worked well in conjunction with Conrad in the forward role, and were complemented by Vojkovic, who also saw significant playing time during the weekend.Vojkovic, an Australian native who joined the team late because of visa issues, has been seeing an increase in playing time recently due to what Bradley refers to as a better understanding of the system.

‘She is pushing it in practice, she’s kind of getting her confidence back,’ Bradley said of Vojkovic. ‘Coming from a different place, she was late for spring practice because of some visa issues. She’s just getting more and more composed.’

Like her freshmen counterparts, Vojkovic’s raw talent materialized during weekend. The forward hustled to save balls and keep offensive control in favor of the Orange. A strong emphasis on possession led to a season-high 21 corner attempts for SU en route to out-shooting the Wildcats 30-3.

‘It was more about what they did without the ball that was good,’ Bradley said. ‘I think they did great, they opened up the field and they lead.’

The young attack was vulnerable at times during the weekend, though, more recognizably against BC Sunday. The faster and experienced Eagles took advantage of the Orange press and found passing lanes, leading to multiple scoring opportunities.

The new starters on Syracuse’s press were exposed at times. After Orange senior goalie Heather Hess broke up a 2-on-1 situation, the Eagles forced an SU turnover, and attacked again behind senior Bob Dirks and junior midfielder Caitlin McGovern.

‘(The game) was really up and down,’ sophomore back Kim Coyle said. ‘Pretty average as far as what we were looking for, we didn’t move the ball consistently or stick to our game plan.’

Bradley said she’s pleased with the emergence of some new role players, as it will help in what she calls the ‘second and third seasons.’

‘Its going help us preserve long-term,’ Bradley said. ‘We’re looking up (to) finishing up the regular season, and then we’ve got the Big East season and then we’ve got the NCAA season …You’re trying to experiment when you can and see if we can do some things.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on October 26, 2008 at 12:00 pm