The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Aaron Burden [Click to enlarge]

Pat Farmer was clearly frustrated. As was typical, the Syracuse women's soccer head coach spent the entire first half of Sunday's home game against West Virginia seated in his chair adjacent to the player bench. But just moments into the second period, Farmer was up and shouting so loudly that his comments could be heard from the other side of the field.

"Play the ball forward," Farmer screamed from the sideline. "Attack the ball."

SU was leading the No. 22 team in the nation, West Virginia, 1-0, and Farmer knew there was no sense in playing to protect the lead. His message to his players was clear: play to win the game.

The possibility of an upset remained intact throughout the match, even after the Mountaineers capitalized with the game-tying goal in the 77th minute.

After two overtimes and 110 grueling minutes of play, SU (4-4-3, 0-2-1 Big East) came away with a 1-1 tie at Syracuse Soccer Stadium Sunday afternoon. On Friday, the Orange opened up its stretch of 10 straight Big East games with a 2-1 defeat at Pittsburgh (6-3-0, 1-1-0).

The draw marks the second time this season the Orange has tied a top 25-ranked opponent. SU played then-No. 8 Boston College to a 0-0 stalemate on Sept. 16.

"(Farmer) was trying to help us if we make a mistake," SU forward Lauren Jentzen said. "He's just trying to get in our face and tell us what to do next, and trying to make us better so next time we don't do it."

Farmer said he felt like the team came out flat in the second half. At halftime, he stressed the need for more pressure and aggression on the offensive side of the ball.

SU gained just one shot-on-goal the entire second half. By the end of regulation, WVU had the clear advantage offensively, out-shooting the Orange 19-4.

"West Virginia is a heck of a team," Farmer said. "They are a better team overall than we are and…I think they dominated. I think the pace was in their favor, and I still think that we managed to get out of it with a draw."

Despite a lack of aggression in the second half, Farmer said his players delivered in the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Continued...

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