CINCINNATI – Sophomore Stephanie Skilton (Auckland, New Zealand) moved into a tie for seventh place on Syracuse’s career goals scored list in the Orange’s 3-1 setback at Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 21. It was Syracuse’s final non-conference match of the season.

Skilton posted her 15th career goal in the loss, which places her in a tie with Natalie Galas (2001-04) for seventh place on the school’s all-time leader list. Skilton led SU with nine goals as a freshman.

All of the scoring took place in the second half. The Bearcats (6-2-2) were awarded a penalty kick in the 48th minute, which Megan Cravenor converted for her second goal of the season. Cincinnati added to its lead in the 63rd minute. Taylor Jackson headed the ball toward the goal but her shot was blocked. The ball deflected to Danielle Rotheram, who found the back of the net to give the Bearcats a 2-0 advantage.

Cincinnati tallied its final goal in the 65^th minute when Vanessa Gilles scored on a header on a corner kick by Jae Atkinson. Skilton put the Orange (3-4-3) on the scoreboard in the 78th minute.  Maddie Damm’s (North Kingstown, R.I.) shot hit the crossbar and Skilton took possession of the rebound and posted her team-leading sixth goal of the season to cut the deficit to two.

Syracuse continued to apply offensive pressure. Skilton had a shot blocked in the 86th minute and the Orange earned a corner kick in the 87th minute but couldn’t convert on its opportunity.

“We knew coming in that Cincinnati was a big, powerful, physical team that depended heavily on set pieces,” said Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon. “In the first half it took us 10-12 minutes to get settled and find our rhythm but we did and we felt we were going in a good direction heading into the second half. Then we gave up two goals on set pieces which was very disappointing.”

Cincinnati recorded 16 shots and eight corner kicks, while Syracuse had five shots and three corner kicks. Freshman Courtney Brosnan (Short Hills, N.J.) made five saves for the Orange.

“I give Cincinnati credit for their organization and competitive nature,” Wheddon said. “We turned the ball over too easily, especially in the back which puts yourself in trouble. It’s a tough lesson to learn. Things need to get better immediately and change before our game against Miami.”

Syracuse faces the Hurricanes on Thursday, Sept. 25 in the final match of a stretch of seven consecutive road matches.

AGATE

                                1^st           2^nd          Final
Syracuse              0              1              1
Cincinnati            0              3              3

 

Scoring:

48:18     UC          Megan Cravenor

63:05     UC          Danielle Rotheram (Taylor Jackson)

65:57     UC          Vanessa Gilles (Jae Atkinson)

78:18     SU          Stephanie Skilton (Maddie Damm)

 

Shots: Cincinnati 16, Syracuse 5

Corner Kicks: Cincinnati 8, Syracuse 3

Saves: Syracuse 5 (Courtney Brosnan), Cincinnati  0 (Natalie Smith)

Attendance: 751

 

-- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: NEW YORK’S COLLEGE TEAM --