When Syracuse women's soccer head coach Phil Wheddon arrived at practice on Wednesday, he found himself locked out of SU Soccer Stadium and unsure which one of his many keys unlocked the gates.
A stranger on his own turf, Wheddon admitted it was the first time he and his team were practicing at their home field.
After beginning the 2009 season with nine road games, the Orange finally played on its own field, under its own lights and in front of its own fans. Though the location may have been unfamiliar, the resilience SU showed was suggested it had been playing there all year. After falling behind by a goal to Providence, Syracuse tied the game, and eventually won in double-overtime, 2-1.
And for Wheddon, he was just glad to watch his opponent's bus drive out of the parking lot.
"It's nice to not go over there and get on a bus and drive somewhere," Wheddon said. "It's great to be right here. The mentality of the players is that they feel more comfortable, and we had good support tonight. I think it helps the team's confidence to play here. It's just a great place to play."
After 34 days on the road, the Orange finally got a taste of what its opponents have been feasting on all season. Syracuse took the field in front of its own fans, on its own grass, in its own element for the first time since Oct. 19, 2008, a 1-0 loss to Rutgers.
"I think that the environment was really good tonight," Tina Romagnuolo said. "It did help a lot. I think the team's excited to be at home. We're kind of sick of traveling and being on a bus a lot, but I think that we're going to play a lot better at home just because we're here and not traveling. We can sleep in our beds." Syracuse travels to Connecticut on Sunday before returning home for a weekend of home games against Cincinnati (Friday), and Louisville (Sunday).
For senior Tessa MacDougall, having the ability to feed off of the home crowd against Providence, and having the ability to do it four more times this season, makes a big difference in the way the Orange play.
"I think we were just pumped up at the beginning of the game," MacDougal said. "In the locker room, and even when we came out, everyone was excited. We had a good warmup, and it just felt good."
Syracuse failed to disappoint in its 2009 home opener. After falling behind 1-0, the Orange quickly rebounded to tie the game. 38 seconds into the second overtime, SU netted its second goal of the season and its first win at home.
The outcome, however, should not come as a surprise, considering SU's history. The Orange improved to 11-1-1 all-time in home-openers, with the only loss coming at the hands of St. John's in 2006.
Romagnuolo knows that she and the rest of the Orange need to take advantage of their four remaining home games.
"It was good to finally play here," she said. "But we need to win all of our home games."
MacDougall, on the other hand, isn't quite calling the final four home games must-wins. In fact, despite being a four-year veteran, the concept of playing a home game after playing nine on the road is a bit foreign to her.
"It was a little unfamiliar, but it still felt good to be home," MacDougall said. "We had some fans, and it just felt really good to finally be here."
dfbaer@syr.edu
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