Syracuse Women’s Soccer Home Opener Spoiled by Visiting Auburn Tigers

The Orange falls to 1-2 on the season after the loss.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (All Syracuse FN) – After splitting their first two games of the season on the road, the Syracuse women’s soccer team fell to Auburn in their home season opener. Fans at SU Soccer Stadium were ready for the challenge of hosting an SEC team, and those spectating on Thursday afternoon saw a gritty battle with a result that was up in the air until the last whistle. 

Auburn opened the scoring in the 25th minute through forward Marissa Arias, and defender L.J. Knox doubled their lead just after the hour mark. Neither goal was pretty - both Tiger scores came off of rebound opportunities after saves made by Syracuse keeper Shea Vanderbosch. The Orange clawed their way back into the match when forward Hannah Pilley fired one home to cut the lead in half, but that’s as far as the comeback bid would go with Auburn hanging on to take a 2-1 final score back to Alabama.

Below are three takeaways from the match:

“A Tale of Two Halves”

After an uninspiring showing in the first half, the Orange seemed lucky to only be down one goal after 45 minutes. Auburn peppered the Syracuse defense with eight shots and sent in seven corners in the first half alone, compared to the paltry two shots and two corners the home team mustered. Head coach Nicky Adams described the game as “a tale of two halves,” as after the halftime whistle the Orange were able to pull one back and show more offensively.

“In the first half I think we were a bit chaotic,” Adams said. “Once we won [the ball], we got frantic and gave it right back to them.” She hit the nail on the head – Syracuse struggled under the Auburn press in the first half and that pressure led directly to the mistake that gave the Tigers their first goal. Adams says that settling down in the back line was key: “Once we started calming down and were able to unlock and break lines, we became more dangerous moving forward and that’s exactly what we did in the second half.”

Shea Vanderbosch is the real deal

Despite the team waking up in the second half, they had no business being in this game. One woman singlehandedly kept them in it – goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch put on an absolute clinic, tallying eight saves. While those sitting in the stands were jumping out of their seats at every acrobatic save, coach Adams wasn’t surprised. “One of the things we know we’ll get out of Shea is she is one of the best shot stoppers in the nation – hands down.”

While that’s high praise for a sophomore, Vanderbosch looked every bit as good today as her coach said. She showcased an impressive ability to coming out through a crowded box to punch out crosses, something that came in handy against the 11 corners Auburn won. Adams gave Vanderbosch 15 starts last season and is excited about the development she’s seen: “Every point that we gave her at the end of May, she took it over the summer and has come back as a brand-new player.”

While there are defensive lapses to be worked out, this Syracuse team should feel good about who they have as their last woman back. Adams says it best – “I thought Shea was good last year. You’re gonna see Shea be great this year.”

Syracuse fans should be excited about what Nicky Adams is building

While it’ll be far too easy for this team to get pushed to the side in favor of a men’s squad that is looking to defend a national title, the public should be paying attention to this program. They’ve improved year in and year out since Adams was named head coach four seasons ago and are coming off a 2022 campaign where they finished above .500 for the first time since 2012. Even with a good bit of roster turnover, Adams feels like she’s connecting with the team well early on - “The response [after the half] from this group is exciting to me – they’re extremely coachable, took every point we gave them at halftime.”

Looking Ahead:

Syracuse will look to bounce back from this loss on Sunday when 0-2-1 Binghamton visits the SU Soccer Stadium. That match will be the last home game until late September, as the team will hit the road for five straight – something Adams says she’s ready for. “It’s exciting for me to put this team with so many new players under this type of pressure so we’ll continue to get stronger and stronger as ACC play comes up.”

The Orange have an 8-1-1 record all time against Binghamton, having won six in a row dating back to 2007. They’ll look to keep that streak going when they kick-off at 7pm on August 2

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