Lack of experience finally caught up with the No. 20 Syracuse field hockey team this weekend, ending its five-game win streak to open the season.
It was one of head coach Ange Bradley's old Atlantic 10 foes who came back to haunt her in Temple's upset of the Orange, 1-0, on Sunday.
"They had more experience than us coming into the game," Bradley said. "And they did a great job today in shutting down our attack."
The Orange started off the weekend homestand with a 4-3 win over Central Michigan (0-4) on Friday night but could not carry the momentum over to Sunday's matchup with Temple (4-2). SU failed to score for the first time this season in its loss to the Owls.
The loss also broke Bradley's undefeated record of 42-0 against Atlantic 10 opponents, which Bradley amassed while coaching in the conference with Richmond. Bradley has historically had a stellar record against Temple, posting a 9-0 record against the Owls until the loss on Sunday.
"I don't really give much attention to the team we are playing," Bradley said. "It's about us and about how we gel, and what we learn from each game. So, it doesn't really matter who we are playing - I want to go after it and go after the win."
Bradley pointed to the relative inexperience SU had compared to Temple as the reason for its struggles. Temple started four seniors and four juniors out of an 11-person starting lineup.
"They're a more experienced team than we are," Bradley said. "And they have a group of seniors that I have watched play for the last four years that have experienced a lot of things together as a team."
Temple dominated offensively in the first half, constantly pushing the ball deep into Syracuse's zone, and the Orange allowed eight shots in the half. Still, the teams went into the halftime break tied 0-0.
In the second half, SU adjusted to Temple's attack and began slowing them down, but at 52:58, the Owls scored off of a corner opportunity. Temple senior Alli Lokey fired the shot, which deflected off SU's goalkeeper Heather Hess and into the cage.
Lokey's goal proved to be the game-winner as SU failed to score off a couple of good opportunities late in the game. The closest of which was a fast break in which senior Gloria Nantulya carried the ball in behind Temple's defenders but missed the shot wide to the left.
"We had some great opportunities, and we didn't execute," Bradley said. "Some days you do and some days you don't, and that's the sport."
Be the first to comment on this article!