Syracuse Women's Soccer Gets Back to .500 With Senior Night Win Over Binghamton
(SYRACUSE, N.Y.) The Syracuse Orange Women’s Soccer team pulled off a 2-1 senior night victory over the visiting Binghamton Bearcats to get back to .500 on the season.
Ashley Rauch started the scoring in just the 8th minute of play, sneaking one past Bearcat goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams, (assisted by Erin Flurey).
The Orange held onto this 1-0 lead, and looked like the superior team until the 17th minute when Bearcat midfielder Olivia McKnight hit Paige Luke in stride with a pin-point pass, which would lead to the tying goal.
However, Syracuse would quickly regain momentum, eventually tallying 13 shots on goal in the first half alone.
Even with this flurry of shots on goal, Williams held strong for the Bearcats, making what seemed like impossible saves, and bringing the game to halftime still knotted at one.
The Bearcats seemed to feed off of this early in the second half, as they dominated time of possession for the first 12-plus minutes out of the locker room.
Syracuse defenseman Kylen Grant made not one, not two, but three huge defensive plays to help the Orange weather the Bearcats onslaught of offense.
“In those moments, y’know, it’s just about composure," Grant said. "We have to collect ourselves, so it’s just about recognizing that we need to settle (down) and clear the ball out.”
Then in the 63rd minute, maybe the wildest play of the evening would take place. A softly hit ball off the foot of Kendyl Lauher (assisted by Anna Rupert) snuck by Williams, giving Syracuse the lead for good.
Binghamton kept the game interesting, with multiple chances late, including a goal that was called back due to a handball with only a few minutes remaining in the competition.
Things eventually got chippy late in the game, with multiple yellow cards being assessed to Binghamton. Syracuse coach Nicky Adams spoke to her team’s composure.
“They did well, right," Adams said. "I think the stat sheet said we had four fouls and they had 22… It is really hard to keep your cool, so I’m really proud of them for doing that.”
The Orange is next in action on Thursday at 4 p.m. when they travel to Massachusetts to play UMass; the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. This will be game one of a five-game road trip before the Orange finally return to SU Soccer Stadium for a September 21st matchup with the Florida State Seminoles.
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