STORRS, Conn. – The Syracuse women’s soccer squad had its three-game winning streak snapped in a 1-0 setback at Connecticut on Sunday, Sept. 8. Both teams are now 4-2 this season.

Connecticut outshot the Orange, 8-2 in the first half. Three of the eight came in a five-minute span midway through the first half. Syracuse goalkeeper Brittany Anghel (East Meadow, N.Y.) made two of her season-high six saves during the stretch that kept the score at 0-0. The Orange earned the first corner kick of the game in the 40th minute, but couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. The Huskies regained possession and knocked the ball long into its offensive zone. The SU defense’s pass back was intercepted by Rachel Hill, who found the back of the net in the 42nd minute for the only goal of the game.

“Connecticut plays a very direct style of play,” said Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon. “They like to play long balls over the top. They have great athletes up top and they try to exploit that with pace. That’s what happened on their goal.”

Syracuse was the more dangerous team in the second half. The Orange produced six shots and earned three corner kicks but could not record the equalizer. SU had one final chance to tie the score when it earned a corner kick in the 88th minute but was unable to find the back of the net as the Orange was shutout for the first time this season.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Wheddon said. “We had great scoring chances and were a bit unlucky in the second half. We hit the crossbar and forced their goalkeeper to make saves. Our possession in the second half was much better. It was a great team effort in a hard-fought, physical match. We not only matched them on the soccer side, but on the physical side. We didn’t back down.”

The Orange finished the game with eight shots and four corner kicks, while Connecticut had 12 shots and one corner kick. Anghel recorded six saves, while UConn goalkeeper Emily Armstrong had three.

Syracuse begins ACC play next week when it goes on the road for a pair of games. The Orange takes on Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 12 in its first-ever ACC contest. SU then takes on Virginia Tech on Sunday, Sept. 15.

AGATE
  1st 2nd Final
Syracuse  0 0 0
Connecticut 1 0 1

Scoring:
42:28 UConn  Rachel Hill

Shots: Connecticut 12, Syracuse 8
Corner Kicks: Syracuse 4, Connecticut 1
Saves: Syracuse 6 (Brittany Anghel), Connecticut 3 (Strong, Emily)

Attendance: 571

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