After netting the game-winning goal Thursday against Providence, freshman midfielder Tina Romagnuolo left the stadium with her right foot wrapped in ice as a result of a collision with the opposing goalkeeper in the second half.
Sophomore defender Casey Ramirez made several aggressive tackles in the game, including one just outside of the box to end an attack early in the second half.
Freshman defender Laura Jackson left the field for a couple of seconds in the first half after a rough challenge by a Providence defender.
These are only a few samples of the aggressive style of play that the Syracuse women's soccer team expects from its Big East opposition, which the players feel is much stronger than the squads they've played in their non-conference schedule.
Syracuse (4-5-2) dropped to 1-2-0 in conference play after losing to No. 16 Connecticut 5-0 Sunday, but the team is confident that it can contend in the tough Big East. Head coach Phil Wheddon suggests that the squad simply needs to adjust to the physical style and force of its opponents to play its game.
"We have to be able to adapt," Wheddon said. "And if some squads turn it into a big, physical game we need to match them physically but then impose our game on them. Our game is to move the ball quickly, a more technical game, to keep things on the ground and not have the ball in the air so much."
Ramirez believes that Sunday's loss against Connecticut was the result of the team not playing to its full potential. She called the loss "an eye opener" because it showed the squad it needs to play at a high level throughout every Big East game to be competitive within the conference.
SU has adjusted to the aggressive play, but Wheddon suggests that some of his players struggled to find the right amount of physicality against Connecticut.
"While it is a big, physical conference, you have to be able to play soccer," Wheddon said. "…If you get too caught up in the physical nature of the game, that's where things start to break down. I think on Sunday against UConn, we had a few players that got caught up in either not being physical enough or trying to do too much."
The squad is much stronger compared to last season, but Wheddon maintains that they must play a smart brand of soccer, which he says includes keeping the ball on the ground and staying disciplined.
Changes have been made to the squad's weekly practice schedule to better prepare the team for Big East opponents. Syracuse now runs from Manley Field House to Hookway Fields prior to practice and they have also started to lift more.
"Well, we lift twice a week at 6 a.m.," Ramirez said. "So, we're slowly getting stronger and now we're actually running more. So we should be getting faster and stronger."
Freshman defender Patricia Lind said that the squad must work on communication. If the players know where to be on the field, they'll be able to elude aggressive opposition.
Lind, though, still thinks that the team needs to learn how to play tougher.
"If you learn where to be at the right place and the right time," Lind said, "You don't need to be the strongest girl…Some people here are physical, but some are technical. They need to handle the physical stuff, too, and they need to learn communication-wise."
The players recognize that aggressive play will be important for the team's success, so they've started to play more physical in practice and match each other's intensity.
Lind attributes this to familiarity. Because players are used to one another they understand that aggressive play in practice is meant to improve the team and that it is not to be taken personally.
"Now people are more professional," Lind said. "They know that we just do it because we want to get better, to get used to it. I'm one of the stronger girls here, but people step it up, they take after you. It's more like a 'If she can, I can' kind of mentality."
jflaboon@syr.edu
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