UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Syracuse women’s soccer squad scored twice in the second half for a come-from-behind victory against Hofstra in the season opener at the Penn State Invitational on Friday, Aug. 23. The Orange tied the score in the 70th minute and notched the game winner on freshman Stephanie Skilton’s (Auckland, New Zealand) unassisted goal in the 74th minute.

 

The Orange took an early lead when junior Alexis Koval (Syracuse, N.Y.) beat Hofstra goalkeeper Emily Morphitis high from 12 yards out in the fourth minute of play. Hofstra tied the score in the 58th minute. Syracuse goalkeeper Brittany Anghel (East Meadow, N.Y.) made a save on a header by Lulu Echeverry off a free kick but couldn’t control the ball. Caylin Dudley gained possession and put her shot in the back of the net.

 

The Pride took the lead in the 62nd minute when Sam Scolarici scored on a long pass from Leah Galton. Freshman Maddie Damm (North Kingston, R.I.) started the Orange’s comeback when she put her shot from 12 yards out into the back of the net on an assist from Erin Simon (Oakhurst, N.J.) in the 70th minute. Skilton then netted the game winner when she beat Friederike Mehring one-on-one in the 74th minute to give Syracuse its second consecutive season-opening victory.

 

“Hofstra came out strong in the second half and we let them play (their style) a little too much,” said Orange head coach Phil Wheddon. “Now we know we can come back. We were down by one with 25 minutes to play. I thought we did a good job being resilient and forceful. We had some good combination play as the game wore on.”

 

The Pride outshot Syracuse, 7-6, and earned three corner kicks to two for SU. Anghel finished with two saves for the Orange.

 

Syracuse is back in action on Sunday, Aug. 25 when it takes on West Virginia on the final day of the Penn State Invitational.

 

AGATE

                                1st           2nd          Final

Syracuse              1              2              3
Hofstra                 0              2              2

Scoring:
4:25        SU                          Alexis Koval (unassisted)
58:18     HOFSTRA             Caylin Dudley (unassisted)
66:34     HOFSTRA             Sam Scolarici (Leah Galton)
70:21     SU                          Maddie Damm (Erin Simon)
74:26     SU                          Stephanie Skilton (unassisted)

 

Shots: Hofstra 7, Syracuse 6
Corner Kicks: Hofstra 3, Syracuse 2
Saves: Syracuse 2 (Anghel, Brittany), Hofstra 0 (Mehrin, Friederike, Morphitis, Emily)

 

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