Before the season started, Syracuse was ranked No. 4. In the ensuing weeks came overtime wins, second-half comebacks, an ascent to the national No. 1 spot, hearing a rap song someone made them in an Indiana Chipotle, the first women’s undefeated regular season in school history and a sweep of the Atlantic Coast Conference individual awards. But Sunday, SU failed to capture the team title, losing perfection and the ACC crown in a 2-1 overtime loss to North Carolina.

Starting Saturday, the Orange starts the NCAA tournament and its quest to become the first women’s team in school history to win a national championship. Read here what it will take to get there.

Here are the 10 quotes recapping Syracuse’s wild 2015 season:

10. “I’m not a rap person. I looked at the first paragraph and moved on. It’s nice that he did it … (but) that doesn’t appeal to me. To the kids it did. I like my ‘70s and ‘80s music. I’ll stick to my Van Morrison.” – Syracuse head coach, and 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Ange Bradley on Oct. 26 about the rap that was made for her team.

9. “The (ACC) is constantly hard competition. … In my opinion, and in many other people’s opinions, it’s the best league in the country.” – Senior forward Emma Russell on Oct. 20

8. “Seeing (senior midfielder Alma Fenne) go through the defense and making those shots — she makes those on me every day at practice — I was like, ‘Yes! Make another goalkeeper pay.’” – A laughing senior goalkeeper Jess Jecko after Fenne, the 2015 ACC offensive player of the year, scored seven points in the team’s Oct. 17 win over Wake Forest.

7. “I remember I came in my first year and I was like, ‘What? How can you call these people your family? I don’t think that could happen.’” – Russell, now a team captain, on her hesitancy freshman year.

6. “I said to her mother, ‘I think she’s never going to learn (field hockey).’ Every time (I see her play), I’m surprised. … When she was eight, I thought, ‘Ohhhh. We’re never going to make it.’ But we did.” – Rob Weers on Oct. 20 about his daughter, Roos Weers, the ACC Freshman of the Year.

5. “Sixty days from now, it’s going to mean a heck of a lot more. We’d probably be the happiest people in the world. For today, it’s a reward of the work we’ve done but it means nothing at this point in time.” – Bradley on Oct. 6 after Syracuse became the new national No. 1.

4. “The bottom line is: In the first half we weren’t aggressive and we were apprehensive. We waited for things to happen instead of stepping up to making things happen. That’s the first time we did that all year. And it’ll be the last.” – Bradley on Nov. 8 after Syracuse’s first loss, 2-1 in overtime against North Carolina in the ACC final

3. “We were looking into each other’s eyes before the game (thinking), ‘We’re going to smash them.’ And we did.” – Fenne on Oct. 17 on the extra motivation Syracuse had in its first game against Wake Forest since losing to the Demon Deacons in the 2014 ACC final.

2. “You always propose a question to the defense when you attack. ‘Are you going to come with me or are you going to stay in the space?’ The attacker has to read that and work with a teammate to decide what answer they’ll give. (They) have to be in unison to know the answer to those questions. In any sport, you make reads. It’s especially difficult in our sport because you’re only allowed to use one side of the stick, and you’re bent over. … It’s intricate in the sense that it’s a timing play. And that’s what makes this game, when played well, so beautiful.” – Bradley on Oct. 4 about playing offense.

1. “We didn’t celebrate yet. We are going to celebrate the 22nd of November. You can be there if you want because that’s when we will be National Champions.” – Weers on Oct. 20 after clinching the regular-season ACC title during Syracuse’s final regular season home game.

You can follow along with The Daily Orange’s continuing coverage of the team here.

Published on November 11, 2015 at 11:06 am

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR