Ninth-ranked Syracuse University field hockey lost a two-goal halftime lead as No. 2 North Carolina came back for a 4-3 win on Oct. 17 at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
Syracuse (10-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) had goals from Bo van Kempen, Hattie Madden, and Lieke Leeggangers. Pati Strunk and Lana Hamilton assisted on van Kempen’s goal, while Aubrey Turner set up Madden’s fifth goal of the season. Aiden Drabick recorded an assist on Leeggangers’ score. Goalkeepers Jessie Eiselin and Tane King combined for 11 saves.
North Carolina (13-1, 6-1 ACC) overcame the deficit behind three goals from Charley Bruder, who scored in the first, third, and fourth quarters. Dani Mendez added one goal and two assists; Sanne Hak and Ryleigh Heck each contributed an assist. Tar Heels’ goalkeepers Merritt Skubisz and Katie Wimmer made five saves.
The game opened with Bruder scoring for North Carolina just over two minutes into play with assists from Hak and Mendez. Syracuse responded in the second quarter with three unanswered goals: van Kempen equalized on a penalty corner at eight minutes; four minutes later, Madden gave Syracuse its first lead off Turner’s feed; Leeggangers extended the advantage to 3-1 late in the half with help from Drabick.
In the third quarter, Bruder scored again for North Carolina at minute 34:29 with an assist from Heck as Tane King made four saves to keep Syracuse ahead heading into the final period. The fourth quarter saw Mendez tie it up after being set up by Bruder, before Bruder completed her hat trick unassisted with just nineteen seconds left in regulation to secure North Carolina’s win.
Despite combining for more saves than their opponents (11 versus five), Syracuse was outshot by North Carolina (22 shots to eleven) and trailed nine-four in penalty corners as well as fifteen-eight in shots on goal. Next Friday, Syracuse will travel to Chestnut Hill for a matchup against Boston College scheduled for 6 p.m.
