Cuse Country

Every one of us who has ever spent time shooting baskets alone has probably at one time or another done the same thing: the Countdown. You stand near the top of the key dribbling, counting down under your breath — for some reason, always starting with “five” — and when you reach “one” you launch the shot that will win the game. (If you’re like me, you would miss, but then that last second would magically elongate, allowing just enough time for an offensive rebound and a putback.) It’s the dream of every sports fan to hit that walkoff home run or catch that Hail Mary pass, to score that deciding goal with zeros on the clock.

In other words, we all want to be Maggie Befort.

video from bigeast.org

Befort’s deflection into the net of a shot by teammate Lindsey Conrad not only won the game — it won the 2008 Big East Championship in field hockey for Syracuse. It was that backyard fantasy come true on a grand scale and earned her a place in Orange sports history. (And she didn’t even have to count down in her head — time had already expired!)

SU and Connecticut dispatched Providence and Louisville, respectively, on Saturday to advance to the championship game Sunday afternoon. UConn had dealt SU their only loss of the season, a 1-0 squeaker on October 18 at Coyne Field. SU outplayed the Lady Huskies in that game, outshooting them 14-6 and getting many more penalty corner chances (13-5) but UConn had scored early and then just packed in the defense, and SU was unable to tally an equalizer. The Orange came into this game looking to return the favor on UConn’s home turf.

The teams battled through 70 scoreless minutes of play. This time it UConn took it to the Orange, outshooting them 18-6 and holding a 10-5 lead in penalty corners. But Orange senior goalkeeper Heather Hess rose to the occasion, stopping everything that came her way, preserving the scoreless tie throughout regulation.

With just a few seconds remaining on the clock, SU was awarded a penalty corner. Time ran out while play was stopped to set up the penalty play, but International Hockey Federation rule 13.4 (yes I looked it up) states: “The match is prolonged at half-time and full-time to allow completion of a penalty corner or any subsequent penalty corner or penalty stroke.” This gave the Orange one last chance to score before the game would go into sudden-death overtime. (Kind of like the magically-elongated final second on my backyard hoop — but codified in the actual rulebook.)

Maggie Befort (SUAthletics.com)

“>Maggie Befort played the ball in from the baseline on the penalty corner. The shot from outside was taken by sophomore forward Lindsey Conrad. The defenders rushed out from the goal crease to disrupt SU’s chance, but they forgot about Befort who snuck in behind the play and planted herself at the far corner of the goal. (Cardinal rule for basketball as well as field hockey: on a last-second play, don’t forget about the player who inbounds the ball!) Conrad’s shot got past the defense but was about to sail wide when Befort deflected it into the net, giving the Orange their first Big East Championship in field hockey since 2001 and setting off the outpouring of pure Orange joy that you can see in the video. They match what UConn did in October — winning on the opponent’s home turf by a 1-0 score despite being outshot significantly. But this one counted for much more.

A little more on that final play: The Daily Orange reports that the play, drawn up for Conrad to take the shot, was a sort of trick play. Whenever SU has been granted a penalty corner, all-Universe senior midfielder Shannon Taylor has been the one to take the shot. For this final play, she was used as a decoy. As the pass comes to the top of the circle, Taylor is to the right of the crouching player who receives the pass. The defense expects Taylor to fire a shot but she swings and misses on purpose. Instead the ball gets dished to Conrad who has some room to work thanks to the misdirection. She takes her shot, Befort is there for the tip-in, and a champion is crowned.

Five SU players were named to the all-tournament team, including Taylor (who was named Most Outstanding Player), Befort, Hess, Conrad and freshman back Anne-Sophie Van der Post. The brackets for the 16-team NCAA Tournament will be released Tuesday (you can watch the selection show live online) and the tournament begins this coming weekend. Expect SU, currently ranked #3, to get one of the top four seeds, which I think means that they would host the first- and second-round games in their quarter of the bracket. The semis and final are in Louisville on 11/22 and 11/23.