SYRACUSE, N.Y. - No. 2/2 Syracuse (14-2, 7-0) held off a late comeback attempt to defeat No. 14/14 Loyola (10-5, 6-1), 13-12, on Friday, April 27 at the SU Soccer Stadium. With the victory, the Orange clinched at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title and broke the school record with its 13th consecutive victory.
Junior Michelle Tumolo led the Orange with four goals and five points, while freshman Gabby Jaquith netted a career-high three goals. Freshman Kailah Kempney had two goals and became the school's single-season leader in draw controls. She had eight against the Greyhounds, giving her 63 this season.
Loyola jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes of play before Tumolo put the Orange on the scoreboard at the 22:35 mark. Tumolo's goal sparked the Orange on a 7-0 scoring that SU a 7-2 lead with 7:04 remaining in the first half. Jaquith had two goals during the run, while Tumolo and junior Bridget Daley each had a goal and an assist.
Tumolo's second goal of the game gave the Orange an 8-4 advantage 3:11 before intermission, but Loyola netted the final three goals of the half to cut the lead to 8-7 at halftime. Annie Thomas found the back of the net at the 1:17 mark and Hannah Schmitt scored twice in a span of seven seconds, the second coming with two seconds left on the clock.
The second half featured scoring runs by both squads. Tumolo netted back-to-back goals to start the half as SU recorded five unanswered goals to take its largest lead of the game at 13-7 with 16:50 to play. Sophomore Alyssa Murray scored an unassisted goal before Jaquith and Kempney found the back of the net. Kempney's goal at the 16:50 mark would be the last for the Orange as Loyola recorded five consecutive goals to cut the lead to one. Molly Hulseman scored twice off free position attempts and Schmitt added a pair of goals, her sixth of the game coming off a failed clear attempt by the Orange with 8:13 remaining, making the score 13-12.
Both teams had scoring chances in the final minutes of the game, but could not convert. Loyola's Kerry Stoothoff made a save on Murray's shot with 34 seconds remaining, but the Orange regained possession and ran out the clock for its 11th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season victory, dating back to last season.
"When we are on and disciplined, we can score goals and we can score them on runs," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "But today was a story of two teams that can score on runs. They answered back. Both times we had great runs, they had runs of their own. We have a lot to work on and we can learn from (this game).I think this will become a very valuable game for us down the stretch."
Syracuse outshot Loyola, 33-25, and won 18-of-27 draw controls. Loyola picked up 19 ground balls to 16 for the Orange. Sophomore Alyssa Costantino made four saves in the first half, while freshman Kelsey Richardson had five saves in the second half for Syracuse. Stoothoff finished with 16 saves for Loyola.
The Orange goes for its second undefeated BIG EAST regular season in school history when it hosts Villanova on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Admission is free of charge.
