Play stopped with a little more than five minutes remaining and Jess Jecko trotted off the field to rousing applause. The crowd at J.S. Coyne Stadium rose to their feet for the first time all afternoon as Regan Spencer replaced Jecko in the cage.

Upon reaching the sideline, Jecko high-fived head coach Ange Bradley and hugged fellow senior Alyssa Manley. She took off her mask to reveal a wide smile painted across her face, evidently happy with fourth shutout of the season.

“(The win) was outstanding honestly,” Jecko said. “I know we lost to (Wake Forest) last year (in the ACC Championship final) and going in that’s in the back of your mind.”

The Orange’s counterattack held yet ranked opponent in check as No.1 Syracuse (14-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 6 Wake Forest (10-4, 3-2 ACC), 6-0, Saturday afternoon. The Demon Deacons couldn’t crack the Syracuse backline, only managing three shots and one penalty corner – all in the first half.

Wake Forest’s attack looked dangerous at moments in the first half, which is when Lies Lagerweij said SU’s defense was most effective. Through film and scout-team work, Syracuse was prepared to be challenged most in the first 15 minutes.

“We were ready,” Lagerweij said.

Wake Forest broke through the defense very few times, but its best chance came early in the game’s 17th minute when Madi Julius slipped around Syracuse defender Zoe Wilson and to Jecko’s right. Wilson recovered a bit to redirect Julius closer to the goal, but couldn’t get her stick on the ball.

Still with a clear shot at goal, Julius hoisted a ball to the top corner of the cage but Jecko leapt to extend and knock it out of bounds.

“It was a little bit of a defensive breakdown and the girl made a good move,” Jecko said. “…The defense did a good job of making sure the shot was at a good angle to help me make the save.”

Wake Forest has scored 50 percent of its goals off of attacking penalty corners this season. To counter the opportunistic offense, SU treated the five-meter hash mark as the circle and kept attackers out of their half with increased urgency. The Demon Deacons only secured one penalty corner on the afternoon.

“(Wake Forest) steps up really high and tries to give you little space to work in,” Lagerweij said. “We played out and around them which is really frustrating because they have to keep running.”

For the most part though, the ball stayed on the offensive side of the field and away from Jecko and the defense. Even with a 5-0 lead at halftime, there was no relenting from the midfielders who forced many turnovers to keep Wake Forest from advancing up field.

With 24 minutes remaining in the second half, Wake Forest’s Jess Newak, Sarah Thornhill, Madi Julius and Emily Conroe broke away on a 4-on-3 fast break. After reaching the top of the circle, Alyssa Manley closed the gap from behind to help Jecko, Lagerweij and Wilson. She reached out with her stick and poked the ball away.

Wilson cleared the ball and Jecko relaxed once more. The next time she was required to move with purpose was when Bradley brought her to the sideline to watch the final five minutes.

“Well she only had three shots on her,” Bradley said, with a laugh. “The difference is we moved the ball and Wake wasn’t able to get the ball.”

Published on October 17, 2015 at 5:10 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu