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Entering Notre Dame’s matchup with Syracuse Saturday, Fighting Irish freshman Lily Joseph had recorded three or fewer shots in eight of ND’s 10 matches.

On the season, Joseph had three goals and three assists but hadn’t recorded a point in Atlantic Coast Conference play. That changed against the Orange, who proved to be a more favorable matchup for Joseph, having given up 14 goals in their last five matches.

Against SU, Joseph made her mark early, scoring two goals within two minutes of each other in the first half. The Fighting Irish never looked back.

Syracuse (6-7-1, 0-6-0 ACC) was dismantled by No. 17 Notre Dame (8-1-2, 1-0-2 ACC) 3-0 Saturday, powered by Joseph’s two early scores. Despite not starting the match, the freshman tallied six shots, three being on target. Joseph was regularly involved in Notre Dame’s offense throughout the game, and SU, which was without starting defender Kate Murphy for the majority of the contest, couldn’t find a way to stop her.

“(Joseph’s) too good,” Syracuse head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams said postgame. “A half a step is good enough for her to hit a ball. She’s a special player.”

The Fighting Irish dominated the early minutes of the game, as they constantly pressured the Orange. But SU goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch held strong, keeping the game scoreless to begin the match.

In the 26th minute, Joseph subbed into the game after spending the opening minutes on the bench. But soon after entering, Joseph put Notre Dame on the board.

Ellie Ospeck dribbled past the SU backline to the left of the 18-yard box. As Ospeck moved upfield, Joseph snuck in front of the goal. Ospeck sent a cross to Joseph, who drilled the ball to the left of a diving Vanderbosch to break the tie.

A minute and a half later, Joseph extended Notre Dame’s lead to two. Grace Restovich received a pass on the left of the 18 and booted the ball to Joseph in stride in front of the goal. Joseph dribbled past Erin Flurey, who took a bad angle and drilled a line drive to the top right corner, making it 2-0.

Murphy’s absence, and SU’s depleted backline, loomed large. Freshman Gabby Wisbeck started in her place alongside Iba Oching, Anna Croyle and Kylen Grant. Flurey, one of Syracuse’s best forwards, was forced into a defensive role constantly.

“Notre Dame is really good, number one,” Adams said when asked what contributed to the loss. “Two, not having Murphy in there — we had Kylen and three freshmen on our backline.”

After the squads traded possession for the next few minutes, Notre Dame forced a corner, one of 12 in the match. Joseph positioned herself five yards from the back post. After the original shot was cleared by SU, the ball bounced straight to Joseph. She cut inside and found an open look. However, her shot flew right of the post.

Joseph got involved one more time before the end of the first half. In the 41st minute, she passed the ball forward to Ospeck on the left side. Ospeck sent another cross toward the goal, but the Orange easily knocked the ball away.

Because of Joseph’s early success, Adams was forced to make adjustments at halftime to contain her, telling her defenders to get right up on her and force passes to other players.

“We talked to our sixes quite a bit about (not giving) her any room to breathe,” Adams said.

In the second frame, Notre Dame again started with Joseph on the bench. During this time, the Fighting Irish extended their lead to 3-0 via an Ellie Hodsden tap-in.

Joseph re-entered the game in the 72nd minute and was immediately involved on offense. Two minutes after subbing in, Flurey took a free kick deep in Notre Dame territory, which was immediately cleared by the Fighting Irish. The ball caromed to Joseph, who booted the ball forward to Izzy Engle, though Engle was cut down by SU.

In the 76th minute, Joseph tried a similar play, this time slotting the ball between two defenders to Restovich, creating a one-on-one with Vanderbosch. But SU’s keeper made another diving save.

Just 30 seconds later, Berkley Mensik streaked down the right side of the field with only one defender on her. Joseph maneuvered her way to the front of the net, and she jumped up for a header. Though the ball glanced off the side of her head and out of bounds.

At the end of the contest, Joseph received a pass at midfield, and after making a cut inside, saw yards of open space in front of her. She motored down the middle of the pitch, and passed outside to Restovich, but her ensuing shot was blocked by the Orange.

Following this sequence, the clock ran out, finalizing Notre Dame’s 3-0 victory.

Over the course of the game, Notre Dame totaled a whopping 38 shots to only nine for SU. The Orange allowed Joseph and the Fighting Irish to run wild, leading to their sixth straight loss to begin ACC play.

“There’s no easy game in the ACC, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing,” Adams said postgame. “Adjustment wise, I gotta think about it.”

Published on October 5, 2024 at 5:38 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99