Boston College’s Sam Coffey sent in their first corner kick of the game in the 12th minute and found Jillian Jennings, who caught goalkeeper Jordan Harris out of position. Jennings’ initial shot was denied by Georgia Allen, who was manning the front post. Allen then slid to deflect the rebound, but the ball slipped loose and BC’s Kayla Duran tapped the third chance home.

That was the first of two corner kick goals allowed by Syracuse (3-7, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) in the 3-0 loss to BC (9-0, 1-0). The Orange has lost their last five contests and has been outscored 16 to two.

After Duran’s goal, Allen remained down in front of the net. She left with an injury but returned in the second half with a slight limp.

Five minutes later, BC earned their second corner kick in the game. This time, Coffey crossed in a bending ball which connected with Kayla Jennings’ head and ended up in the back left corner of the net. Harris had no chance as the sea of bodies in front of the net shielded her vision. Coffey took each of the Eagles’ nine corner kicks, every one of them proving to be a dangerous chance.

Harris, who hadn’t played in the past two games, started against BC to combat set pieces, Wheddon said before the game.

“Boston College has scored 53 percent of their goals on set pieces,” Wheddon said Tuesday. “Balls into the box where (Gianna Mitchell), their center back, comes in and scores with her head. We’re going to have to be combative in the air.”

After the second goal, Harris played much more aggressively, deflecting crosses, cutting down angles and coming off her line to disrupt balls in the air. In the 57th minute, Harris was in perfect position and rejected an excellent chance from BC as Coffey crossed into a leaping Jenna Bike.

Harris recorded five saves on 17 shots faced. Syracuse mustered just five shots of its own.

Taylor Bennett had a strong game, constantly clearing loose balls in front of the net and starting possessions from the back. In the 73rd minute, BC had a three-on-two chance. Bennett thwarted the opportunity by fully extending and tapping a cross out of bounds for a corner.

The Orange continue their road trip in Kentucky on Sunday, where the 9-1 Louisville Cardinals await.

Published on September 20, 2018 at 9:27 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman