Syracuse’s Natalie Wallon sprinted ahead on the fast break and slung a pass high above the defense to Riley Donahue. The sophomore attack leapt to corral the ball in the circle, but before she could land and fire off a shot, Donahue was knocked clear out of the air and landed hard on the ground.

While she never looked to be in danger, the play brought an already relatively quiet Carrier Dome to a silence. The referee whistled the play dead and awarded a free position to Donahue, who bounced back up to her feet and took her spot for the ensuing penalty shot.

Seconds after being on the ground, Donahue swept a shot past Marist goalie Alea Bonner to give Syracuse a 4-0 lead just 7:04 into the game. The goal marked the first of two Donahue would score on the free position, a drastic improvement after scoring on only one of four free position shots last week in Syracuse’s 9-6 win over Binghamton.

“I just focused more on knowing where to shoot this game,” Donahue said.

The Marist defense keyed to her teammates and Donahue rose to the occasion as she netted four of the Orange’s 13 first-half goals – all within the game’s first 15 minutes and two within a span of less than two minutes. Donahue made good on her opportunities, scoring each of her four shots as No. 3 Syracuse (4-0) turned in a dominating performance to rout Marist (1-1), 16-5, Sunday night in the Carrier Dome.

The contest was decided before the end of the first half as Syracuse outscored the Red Foxes 13-1 in the first 30 minutes. With the hefty lead, SU was able to rest its starters in the second game of the day’s doubleheader. In the first game as Syracuse defeated Wagner (0-2), 16-5, Donahue chipped in three goals and an assist to tie Halle Majorana with a team-high four points to bring her total on the day to eight. Marist looked similarly overmatched throughout the game as Syracuse attacked at will.

Though the Orange only owned a 12-11 draw control advantage and 30-22 advantage in shots throughout the game, its offensive firepower couldn’t be contained. As Marist’s defense focused on Kayla Treanor and Majorana, it allowed Donahue to slip by relatively unchecked on the attack and find space to cut and create.

“That starting attack group has just been playing unbelievable this year,” head coach Gary Gait said. “If you logged the minutes they’ve played and what they’ve been able to do when they’ve been on the field, it’s been amazing.”

Just 1:20 after Donahue’s first goal, Syracuse was awarded another free position after Marist overcompensated toward Treanor on one side of the field and was forced to foul Donahue following a pass across to her. Donahue took the penalty opportunity and stuck yet another goal past Bonner. The score marked Syracuse’s third in 1:22 and her second within the same timeframe.

“Sometimes they’d turn their back and I just see the opportunity to go,” Donahue said. “I knew Kayla would be there to pass it, so it just kind of worked out.”

Even without the head start of a free position shot, Donahue proved elusive, finding creases and slipping past defenders for open looks on net. Twice more before watching from the sideline as her teammates finished the final 30 minutes, Donahue would quickly handle passes from Treanor and Nicole Levy to score goals.

Syracuse simply overpowered Marist in all facets of the game Sunday, but with so many weapons on the high-powered attack, it was a matter of who would find the back of the net for SU.

“It’s just how the defense plays us and how our teammates are open,” Treanor said. “… Especially against a zone, (we were) looking to pass more and you know, Riley got open a lot.”

Published on February 21, 2016 at 10:38 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu