Gutsy Effort From Syracuse Women's Soccer Comes up Just Short vs #3 Florida State

The Orange could not hold on to a second half lead and fell to the Seminoles.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – At the start of the season, the Syracuse women’s soccer team could’ve looked forward in the schedule and knew that Florida State would be a tough matchup for them. The Seminoles have exceeded even the highest of expectations in this young 2023 campaign, starting off the year hot at 6-0. This struggling Syracuse side, entering the match sitting at 2-6-1 and winless since August, battled hard but eventually fell in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss.

Despite the scouting report, Syracuse got off to a quick start. Midfielder Liesel Odden capitalized on a mistake from the FSU goalkeeper and rolled the ball into an empty net in only the third minute. The lead was short lived, as less than five minutes later Florida State’s Beata Olsson leveled the game. The Orange stole the lead back when Alyssa Abramson’s cross was headed in for an own goal 30 seconds before the halftime whistle. Another own goal on the other side of the break went against Syracuse this time, and a strong effort from FSU’s Onyi Echegini with six minutes remaining proved to be the winner – the final whistle blew at 3-2.

While it wasn’t a win, Thursday’s result almost felt like one based off how Syracuse’s 2023 season has been going up to this point. 

“I mean it’s Florida State, they’re number three in the nation,” head coach Nicky Adams said. “We knew we were going to defend for our lives, all the credit to my players for fighting tooth and nail.”

The Orange had absolutely no business being in this game – they were outshot 32-2 and didn’t take a single corner compared to Florida State’s 15. It was an impressive show of heart and effort from a Syracuse side that could have rolled over and died a number of times, but instead looked primed to take a point away from this match until FSU’s winner in the 84th minute.

After finishing over .500 last year for the first time since 2012 with an 8-7-3 record, there was hope that Nicky Adams’ team would take some momentum into the new season. Instead, a tough schedule saw the Orange playing five straight away games to open September, finally returning to play the best team in the ACC. This last road trip was not kind to Syracuse, tallying four losses and a draw while only scoring three times. The team is also dealing with injury issues, trotting out a depleted squad each game. However, coach Nicky Adams says there were important lessons to be taken away from the skid. 

“It was a long five game road swing and playing with fourteen players on the road – I can’t say enough about this group,” Adams said. “They show up every day and work their butts off, knowing how hard this is gonna be.”

The trip included kicking off ACC play last Friday with a 2-1 loss at the University of Miami, in which a late Erin Fluery goal via penalty kick was Syracuse’s only scratch. Syracuse only managed one conference win last year - playing this well against a top-tier Seminole side so early in the season will be a beacon of hope for Syracuse fans. This group absolutely has the quality to improve upon that tally, it’s just a question if they can get healthy in time.

One major standout from the match was Orange keeper Shea Vanderbosch, who’s been one of Syracuse’s strongest players through the rough start to the year. While the offense has struggled to click at times, Vanderbosch’s acrobatic saves keep the Orange in games until the late stages. The sophomore tallied her career-high in saves tonight, recording a ridiculous 16 (one off of the Syracuse school record) while facing 32 shots from the prolific Seminole offense. 

“I felt like I needed to put my best foot forward for #3 [Florida State]”, Vanderbosch said. “I knew I just had to put my body in front of the ball and come out big.”

The Orange will only have a few days off to rest up before continuing conference play on Sunday when Virginia Tech will come up to New York. The physical Hokies have been playing closer to Syracuse’s level, their 4-3-3 start much less daunting than Florida State’s unblemished track record up to this point. The Orange will look to bounce back and get back in the win column when things kick off on Sunday, September 24 at 1 p.m.

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