SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Lafayette field hockey team put the Patriot League on notice on Monday evening with a double-overtime effort in a hard-fought 3-2 defeat at No. 18 Syracuse, the Leopards' first loss of the 2019 campaign.
 
The Maroon and White came out on the front foot, scoring both of their goals in the first 14 minutes for an early 2-0 advantage. The Orange cut the edge in half in the second stanza and tied it at 2-2 less than five minutes into the third quarter.
 
The home side held the possession and pressure advantage for the remainder of regulation and into the first overtime, but Lafayette continued to fight off scoring chances. Finally, though, less than a minute into the second overtime period, Syracuse's Hailey Bitters found Laura Graziosi, who beat Leopard net-minder Sarah Park for the golden goal.
 
Park finished the night with six saves on 17 shots faced to move to 1-1 in her senior season. Syracuse's Sarah Sinck was stout between the pipes for the home side, moving to 2-0 on the year with three saves on the night.
 
"Tonight was a battle. I am very proud of the effort, competition and intelligence our team showed against a perennial top-20 ACC opponent. In particular, I though tour defensive unit was incredibly strong and resilient," head coach Jennifer Stone said. "We will continue to grow and build from this, but I'm confident that tonight's effort will pay dividends for us as we go through the season. We're looking forward to next weekend's competitions."
 
Less than four minutes into the game, it was senior Caroline Turnbull who put the Leopards on the board off a corner. Turnbull was able to get on the end of a set play with assists from classmate and captain Lisa van der Geest and freshman Simone Hefting for the score.
 
About 10 minutes later, junior Audrey Sawers put together an individual effort for the Leopards' second tally. Sawers drove the end line and banked a shot in off Sinck's glove for the tally.
 
Overall, the night's effort is encouraging for team with hopes for a return to the Patriot League Tournament this season. Lafayette has not beaten a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 9 Boston U. at Rappolt Field on Sept. 23, 2016, and hasn't done so on the road since Aug. 30, 2014, a 4-2 win over Boston College.
 
Syracuse led the way in shots, 18-8, and corners, 11-4. Additionally, Hefting recorded a defensive save in the final minute of regulation to help the game into extra time.  
 
Lafayette returns home for the week before heading to Lynchburg, Virginia for a pair next weekend, battling Appalachian State on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 20 Liberty on Sunday at 12 p.m.