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Until Friday, Syracuse mostly relied on Bo van Kempen for its scoring. But the Orange broke through against Stanford with Willemijn Boogert and their defense leading the way. No. 14 Syracuse (9-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) blanked Stanford (5-6, 0-5 ACC) 3-0 for SU’s fifth shutout of the season. It was the first time the Orange matched up with the Cardinal since SU won 5-0 in 2022.

Syracuse grabbed a 1-0 lead when Lieke Leeggangers tipped one past Stanford goaltender Daisy Ford early in the second quarter. Later in the period, another player from the Orange stepped up.

Deep in Cardinal territory, Taja Gans intercepted a pass. With the defense closing in, she slipped the ball to Boogert. Boogert took just a couple of dribbles and took the shot inside the circle. Her shot was no match for Ford. The ball snuck by the goalie, just inside the post, for the score. It was Boogert’s second straight game with a goal.

“I got a perfect ball from (Gans),” Boogert said postgame. “It was exactly where I wanted it. I pushed the ball inside the circle. I saw I was inside and (decided) to take the shot.”

Midway through the fourth, with the Orange still holding a 2-0 lead, Boogert turned defense into offense to ice the game. Once again, the Cardinal attempted to get the ball out of their own territory.

Boogert used her reach to pick off a pass and work her way around the defender. Once again, she winded up to scorch one past Ford for her second goal.

“We’ve been working a lot on how we attack the circle,” Boogert said. “(We looked to see) how Stanford was defending … They opened up a lot of space for us to come at the top and take our shots.”

Boogert has been one of the few players to create her own shot. After a mid-season stretch that saw the senior struggle to find her stroke, she has shown signs of life over the last two contests.

While Boogert may have been the offensive hero for Syracuse, her steal that led to her second goal was only a glimpse of the defensive showing SU put on display. The Orange didn’t allow a single shot in either the second or third quarter, and Stanford didn’t record a shot on goal until the final frame. Boogert credited the team’s aggressive press defense as what contributed to their success. However, Syracuse head coach Lynn Farquhar credited Boogert’s ability to turn defense into offense and what it means to the unit.

“Her presence in our press (and) first line of defense is fantastic,” Farquhar said. “Her ability to counter (was) implemented from things we have been working on.”

Early on, the Cardinal displayed timely passes and had countless positions inside the arc. Despite the chances, SU continued to make stops. Late in the first quarter, with the game still scoreless, Stanford found itself with the first penalty corner opportunity for either team.

Syracuse’s defense created chaos in the inner circle. While it led to a second penalty corner for the Cardinal, SU goalie Louise Pert never saw the ball get to her on either opportunity.

“We were happy to work off the ball to create the opportunity to attack,” Farquhar said.

For the second and third quarters, the same story remained. Stanford had opportunities, but SU forced the Cardinal to keep having to pass it around the outer edge of the circle.

It wasn’t until 20 seconds into the fourth quarter that Pert recorded her first, and only, save of the day. Stanford forced a penalty corner, and the Orange’s defense couldn’t deflect or intercept the shot.

Despite the lack of opportunities, Pert was ready for the moment and made the save to keep Stanford off the board. Just a couple minutes later, the Cardinal faced SU on another penalty corner, and Syracuse once again blocked the shot attempt.

With under seven minutes to play, Vera Hekkenberg entered as goalie for Pert. Even with a new goalie in, the result stayed the same.

Published on October 11, 2024 at 8:55 pm