By Ron Egan

If the sports world were perfect, there would be no upsets. The best team on paper would win every game. If that were the case, the Pride field hockey team would be entering this Friday’s match against Dartmouth with a 7-2 record. Unfortunately for this young, yet talented Pride squad, upsets do happen, including a heartbreaking, 2-1, penalty-stroke loss to the Syracuse Orange on Sunday.

The more-skilled team for most of the match was the Pride, which controlled play with sharp passes and some fancy stick work. The only way in which the Orange was able to counter the Pride’s skill was through physical play, which at times, got brutal. Through pushing, hitting, and, at times, tackling Pride players throughout the game, the brute Orange showed no mercy in its tireless physical attack on the Pride.

“Often times when a team lacks skill, they resort to pushing or shoving,” senior co-captain Katie Geissler said. “We are a highly skilled team with tremendous talent, but when we face teams like Syracuse, it takes a minute to adjust…but we fight back.”

The Pride fought back against the Orange, drawing first blood 20:35 into the first half on junior Alexandra Alonge’s team-leading fourth of the season. The goal was assisted by freshman Pemba Ramdoo, and put the Pride on top, 1-0.

The two teams played out the remainder of the half without a goal, although both teams had their chances. Pride net-minder Jessica Cowperthwait was forced to make one save in order to preserve the scoreless half, while her counterpart for the Orange, Betsy Wagner, made three. The Pride knew what it had to do in order to record its seventh victory of the season going into the half.

“We knew we had to keep the ball in their defensive half of the field in order to win the game,” sophomore Doni-Melissa Jantzen said. “Our coach (Kathy DeAngelis) reminded us to pass often, to continue to shoot, and to pressure the ball for the remainder of the game.”

The Pride came out in the second half still controlling play, and was on its way to another victory.

However, the physical play of the Orange sidetracked the Pride from its halftime goals, as the team was forced to resort to more physical tactics in order to keep up with the play of the Orange. The Pride looked increasingly frustrated as the game went on, as the Orange’s dirty play continued.

Finally, the Orange were able to break the tough defense of the Pride, as freshman Jessica Lerew tipped a loose ball into the back of the cage, past Cowperthwait, to knot the match at one with only 15:55 left in the game. The two sides played out the remainder of regulation, with neither team able to thwart the other’s defense and knock one into the cage. The squads headed for the seven-on-seven overtime.

During the two 15-minute overtime periods, the Pride found itself with several scoring opportunities, yet was unable to knock home the game-winner. During the overtime, the Orange was finally called for two card-worthy penalties, giving the Pride the odd-woman advantage. However, they were still not able to elude the Orange defense.

“We had some really good chances,” Jantzen said. “Knowing we should beat this team, it was very frustrating that we could not score in overtime.”

Entering penalty strokes, the tension in James M. Shuart Stadium rose as the 122 fans in attendance stood on edge from their stadium seats. The two teams lined up at midfield, as the five players that shot for each team, and their respective goaltenders, headed for the circle.

The Orange shot first, and missed, and when Pride sophomore Kara McEneaney knocked home her penalty stroke, the Pride led 1-0. Both teams made their next two, as Jantzen and co-captain Sara Gonzalez calmly put the Pride ahead, 3-2. However, the Orange scored on its next penalty stroke, and when Ramdoo missed just wide in her attempt, the score was tied at three.

The two teams both made one of their next two, but the Orange converted its seventh penalty stroke, putting them up, 5-4. Gonzalez, one of the clear leaders on this squad, closely missed her shot, and for the first time of the night, the Orange was winning the shootout. The two teams each made their next shot, which left the score at 6-5 heading into the seventh round of penalty strokes.

For the Orange, Meredith Gettel rocketed a shot past Cowperthwait to put the Orange up, 7-5, forcing the Pride to make its next shot. However, it was not meant to be for the squad this night, as freshman Imme van Dijk pushed her shot just wide, giving the Orange the 7-5 penalty strokes victory.

With the win, the Orange improved to 3-4 in this young season. The Pride dropped to 6-3 with the loss. Although they lost, it appears that this game has served as a motivator for the Pride.

“In all honesty, it has fired us up,” Geissler said. “Syracuse should not have won, especially in our house. As a whole, we are looking to work out some of our aggression from Sunday’s game.”

The Pride has bounced back well from losses so far this season, with victories after the previous two. If this trend holds true, the Pride will be in top-gear for their match-up tomorrow with Dartmouth University