Our look at the Final Four takes us to a team making its debut in the national semifinals.
Syracuse Orange
How they got here: Champions of the Big East Conference.
Road to Towson: Defeated Towson 21-9 in the second round, then knocked off North Carolina 13-11 last weekend in the quarterfinals.
“Statement” win: Defeated Georgetown 18-3 on April 5
Against the Final Four field: Lost 17-9 to Northwestern.
One of these things is not like the others: Head coach Gary Gait is the only first-year head coach in the Final Four, and is the only male head coach in the Final Four. He is also the only foreign-born head coach (Canada).
When Syracuse Has The Ball: The Orangewomen have a devastating offense, led by Katie Rowan (73 goals, 69 assists), Christina Dove (74-22), and Halley Quillinan (62-12). Rowan needs just seven points to be the NCAA’s all-time single-season point-getter, besting out none other than the immortal Jen Adams.
When Syracuse Doesn’t Have The Ball: If the other team doesn’t get the ball, it can’t score; it’s that simple. Draw controls (Quillinan 49, Dove 43, Kristin Brady 39, and Lindsay Rogers 33 lead the team) will be a key. Quillinan has also caused more opposing turnovers (27) than anyone on the team except for close defender Christina Gibson (32). Goalkeeper Liz Hogan is a freshman, and has saved 50.5 percent of shots thrown her way.
The Skinny: Gary Gait knew he had a full cupboard when Lisa Miller left to take the head coaching position at Harvard. But he couldn’t have know how full it actually was — so much so that he could afford to shake the team up a bit and give starting positions to players who earned playing time in practice.
The Judgment: It’s hard to ignore all of that offensive firepower, despite the old adage about defense winning championships. If the Orange can figure out a way to beat Northwestern in the semifinal this Friday, watch out.
