LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the frost-covered ground, Shannon Taylor laid still with her hands over her face, trying to smother the pain. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. But before she unveiled her eyes her teammates had collected around her. They lifted her up and walked her to the sideline. And there, standing but facing down, Taylor had to confront bitter reality.

The senior captain was called to accept the No. 3 Syracuse field hockey team’s NCAA semifinalist trophy after a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 2 Wake Forest (21-3) in the Final Four. With her eyes trained on Trager Stadium’s icy turf, she walked out under Friday night lights to face the gaze of 1,094 stares who might have thought the outcome would have been different.

The Orange had won statistically, but faulty pass and the inability to stop the an ensuing Wake Forest counterattack after 79 minutes of pressing play, left Syracuse sharing hugs to hide the heartbreak.

‘We really tried to focus on ourselves and what we could fix with ourselves,’ said Taylor, after the game trying but unable to hold back her tears. ‘I think this is the best we’ve played as a team, and everyone left everything that they had on that field tonight.’

Taylor received applause. She walked off with a loss to end her collegiate career. She said she had no regrets.

‘My kids did everything that was asked of them,’ SU second-year head coach Ange Bradley said. ‘We followed a gameplan, our pressing plan, and we put our opponent under a tremendous amount of pressure. We put them on the run. … The one thing that didn’t work for us was the outcome.’

It was a shocking end to an unexpected season. The team that lost in the first round of the Big East tournament under a new head coach last year claimed this year’s Big East title. The Orange broke school records, and made history this year with its first appearance in the Final Four.

Syracuse was supposed to be a team under development. It was dominated by a starting lineup of freshmen and sophomores, with just two starting seniors. But the Orange (22-1) ended the season as the highest goal scoring team in the nation, led by Taylor (nation’s points leader; 72) who sat on SU’s bench last year, and earned the No. 3 seed to the NCAA tournament.

‘I’m really proud of my team for how they fought, taking the No. 2 seeded team to overtime and out-shooting and out-cornering them,’ Bradley said.

Taylor had her right to be sore, she had tried everything. By the end of the game, the transfer from Richmond had four shots, all on goal. In the seven-on-seven overtime period, she stood as a back on the midfield, where the Deacons could barely pass.

Wake Forest may have come out hard in the first half, notching the game’s first goal 10 minutes in, but the Orange never gave up. Ten minutes later, a quick pass from Taylor to Lindsay Conrad, allowed Conrad to streak from the midfield into her opponent’s arc for a wrist shot that tied the game, 1-1.

‘I think we made a real statement for Syracuse,’ Conrad said. ‘That we can compete with anybody.’

The sophomore Conrad had two goals, and her swift carries into Wake Forest’s arc helped SU rack up eight penalty corner opportunities as the Deacons had trouble trying to halt her speed.

Conrad again tied the game in the second half courtesy of Taylor’s free hit from the top of the Deacon arc. Taylor’s initial shot was blocked by Deacon goalkeeper Crystal Duffield, but Conrad saw the rebound and tipped the goal into the cage.

Down twice, it was Orange’s mentality never wavered, Bradley said. ‘We just kept pushing. That’s who we are, we go after it.’

That attitude didn’t wane in overtime. The Orange held Wake Forest in its own half, adding two shots on goal to the 14 they racked in regulation. But then, almost suddenly, a take away allowed Wake Forest into SU’s arc. A draw from the right of the arc, then a pass to Wake Forest’s Hilary Moore allowed the forward to tip a goal past SU’s goalkeeper Heather Hess, crouched and leaning on her right goal post.

Hess had made five crucial saves, but the last goal left her frozen, still on that right goal post.

The Deacons only had one shot on goal in overtime, but that was all they needed. Moore completed her first career hat-trick and Wake Forest ran onto Trager Stadium’s frosted field.

The seven on SU’s side froze, and that’s when Taylor fell and clasped her gloved right hand and bare left hand on her face, where she lay in cold while her opponents celebrated. Where she stayed until the rest of her team, and the seven on the field, gathered at her side and lifted her body.

Taylor walked into the locker room with her head down, watching her blue Syracuse skirt fold between steps for the last time. Taylor has no more games to play.

After Taylor walked out of the press room, Wake Forest head coach Jen Averill sat down in front of reporters and smiled a smile of relief. The Deacons move on to face Maryland for the NCAA Championship Sunday at 1 p.m.

‘There’s a reason why (SU) had the record they did this season,’ Averill said. ‘And they could just as easily be sitting on our seats tonight.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on November 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm