Cuse WLAX Falls to UNC 17-6
It wasn't for a lack of effort, but Syracuse Women's Lacrosse was not able to hang with UNC Women's Lacrosse in today's matchup and dropped their first game of the season 17-6. Cuse's record now falls to 6-1. That being said, the positive takeaways from today's game are that win or lose, we knew Syracuse would walk away from this game able to learn from their mistakes and hopefully play a better game against UNC the second time around when they will likely face off again in the ACC Conference Tournament. A mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it. What does Cuse have to learn from today's loss in order to avoid making mistakes in the future?
Turnovers
13 turnovers, 9 of which were UNC caused turnovers. UNC won the battles on the ground today, and it showed. Jay Alter, the play-by-play broadcaster for today's game kept referring to UNC's defensive play as "putting on a clinic." I think that's a fair assessment of what happened today. It's easy to focus on the offense, especially when there are two teams on the field who, generally speaking, have high-scoring offenses. That being said, the MVP of today's game was UNC's entire defensive unit. Syracuse did not score for the last 20 minutes of the first half. They went on another 18 minute scoring drought in the second half. You just won't win games that way, it's that simple.
Goalie Play
Now before I begin this part of the piece, let me preface this by saying I think it's easy to blame the goalie. It's easy to blame Goldstock for all of the goals that went in and the reality is, so many of these shots were right on the doorstep today. her defense could've helped her more, and I have another section on just that. But if you asked Goldstock "did you play your best game today?" She would say no. I know she would say no. She had 17 goals allowed and only 6 saves compared to Taylor Moreno's 6 goals allowed and 11 saves. No need to kick Goldstock when she's already down, but the bottom line is I know she would expect more from herself and is capable of more saves on her best day.
Tighter Defensive Play
There were flashes of greatness today by Syracuse's defense. The first ten minutes made me proud and showed me what Syracuse is capable of at their best. The defense did their best work when they were pressuring out, but the reality is once UNC went up big, I think Cuse retreated and felt hesitant to continue pressuring out. They only ended up with 2 caused turnovers on the day, one from Ella Simkins a dn one from Sierra Cockerille. I think they are capable of better. They also have to push the offense players out as much as possible to force worse angle shots, that way Goldstock has a better chance of making more saves.
Better Shots, and More of them
Today, Cuse only had 17 shots on goal. 17 shots on goal, even if they all went in, would have only tied UNC's 17 goals on the day. To beat a team like UNC, who has a GK like Taylor Moreno averaging 6 saves on 10 shots, you need 40+ shots to pull out a win against this team. The other part of today's shooting efforts is that many of the shots could have been positioned better. Granted, this is much easier said than done. Taylor Moreno played lights out and the UNC defense made it hard. That being said, shots against Taylor Moreno need speed, finesse, and purpose.
Less Fouls
32 fouls today overall for the Orange, 5 of which were yellow cards. Lacrosse is a physical, contact game. More than some people realize. But even for the game of lacrosse, 32 fouls is high. And the issue with a high number of fouls is that often times, they either lead to a free position shot or a man down, both of which are opportunities for the Tar Heels to score which is exactly what Cuse is trying to avoid. UNC took 5 shots on free position attempts today, and scored 4 of them. You get my drift. It certainly doesn't help.
Stronger Mentality
I know that mentality seems like it might not be a big deal since there is no "statistic" for it. However, the mentality across the field today could have been better. On the defensive side of the ball, I saw heads down, sticks being slammed on the ground, and yelling at the refs. All of these are signs of frustration, and I understand why the Orange were disappointed. That being said, if there is one unit that needs to stay calm at all times, it is the defensive unit. Once the defensive unit breaks down, everything else will too, and that is sort of what happened today. Cuse started the game with a 4-1 lead. It was about the best first ten minutes that anyone could have asked for. But once UNC started their comeback run, it was as if the Orange just gave up. You can;'t give up ever, but you especially can't give up in the first half. I get it, it sucks to lose. It sucks more to lose by a lot and that's what happened. I'm not saying a different mentality would have won Syracuse this game, because I think that would be a stretch. But a changed mentality could very well be the difference between a 17-6 loss versus a 12-8 loss. A stronger mentality turns into less goals allowed and more offensive opportunities for Cuse.
Cuse gets an opportunity to bounce back quickly. Their game against Georgetown was rescheduled for this Tuesday in DC at 1pm.