Revisiting SU’s 1st ACC win since 2022 ahead of Miami clash
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
After Syracuse’s road win at Miami last October, Nicky Thrasher Adams told her team it was going for ice cream.
About an hour after the game, SU hopped on its team bus and headed to a local Cold Stone Creamery. Players didn’t bother taking off their gear, and the ice cream shop flooded with players waiting for treats.
The ice cream trip rewarded the Orange for their first Atlantic Coast Conference victory in 1,112 days. Between Sept. 26, 2022, and Oct. 10, 2025, SU went 0-27-6 in ACC play.
“It was so nice not to feel upset and down,” former SU goalie Shea Vanderbosch said. “It was really awesome just to see everyone smiling, laughing, hugging each other and just that celebration.”
With SU facing Miami for the first time since then Thursday, here’s a look back at Syracuse’s most memorable win in recent memory:
The stakes
The last time Syracuse made a conference tournament, it was in the Big East. It was 2012, SU’s final year in the conference.
Since joining the ACC, the Orange haven’t come close to the ACC Tournament. Under Adams, who began coaching SU in 2019, Syracuse was 3-52-7 in conference play entering the Miami game. Last year didn’t look much different early on.
After going 4-1-3 in nonconference play and tying SMU in its first ACC game, Syracuse was outscored 12-0 across its next four — three against ranked opponents. It fell 4-0 to then-No. 7 Florida State, 3-0 to then-No. 1 Virginia, 1-0 to Cal and 4-0 to then-No. 3 Stanford.
Abigail Aggarwala | Digital Design Editor
SU responded emphatically to its drubbing at Stanford. In its next game against Clemson, Mia Klammer gave Syracuse something it hadn’t had in ACC play yet — a lead. But after leading 1-0 six minutes in, the Orange squandered it and waited another game for their elusive conference win.
Miami gave SU the perfect opportunity. The Hurricanes entered winless in ACC play at 0-4-1 with nine goals allowed, giving Syracuse’s defense a prime opportunity to break through.
It took 77 minutes, but the Orange did just that.
Defining moment: Rauch to Klammer game-winner
When Syracuse beat Miami 3-1 in 2022 for its previous ACC win, its roster looked vastly different. Twenty-two of 29 players from the 2022 squad were no longer with SU.
One who stayed was graduate student Ashley Rauch, who was a redshirt freshman during the Orange’s last conference win. A fundamental piece to SU’s offense, she entered with four goals and three assists.
After a scoreless first half, Syracuse was in a perilous spot entering the second. It hadn’t scored a second-half conference goal yet.
That changed in the 78th minute.
Rauch intercepted a pass from Miami centerback Lexi Lerwick, and Rauch gently dropped the ball off to Klammer, who took a shot.
Goal. Atlee Olofson made two second-half saves but couldn’t stop Klammer’s team-leading seventh score of the season.
“We were connected and together,” Vanderbosch said. “That was different from other games because we were defending a lot and that just tired us out super quick. We were actually able to attack.”
The assist was a defining moment in Rauch’s graduate season. After bursting onto the scene offensively as a freshman with an early goal and assist, a Lisfranc injury sidelined her for the season three games in. When she returned as a sophomore in 2022, she primarily played defense, having a limited offensive role that carried into 2023.
But as a senior, she regained her offensive edge, tying the team lead with five goals. And her assist against Miami last year solidified it — she was back to her freshman self.
Where SU has gone since
After the win, Vanderbosch said SU’s performance against Miami “needs to be the standard every game.”
But it wasn’t. Instead, it was a flash in the pan. Syracuse was dealt a reality check when it fell 1-0 to Boston College the following weekend.
Following a 2-0 loss to then-No. 7 Duke and a 4-2 defeat to then-No. 23 North Carolina, SU finished 5-9-4. The Miami win was a step in the right direction, but the Orange proved they’re still an ACC bottom-feeder with the three losses afterward.
Syracuse had plenty of roster turnover in the offseason. Vanderbosch, Rauch, Klammer and other key players departed, while Adams added transfers like Farrah Stephens-Martin, Vickie Jones and Maya Naimoli.
Naimoli has been a stalwart replacing Vanderbosch in net, leading the ACC with 59 saves. Stephens-Martin has offered SU’s offense speed and scored twice. While Jones lost her starting spot, she scored three goals earlier this season.
Yet it’s been more of the same for the Orange. After starting 3-0-1 — which included Abby Incorvaia’s game-winning goal at Northwestern on Aug. 20 — SU has stumbled in conference play and is now 4-9-2.
Whether it’s consistently getting outshot or missing wide-open goals, Adams’ side has shown little to no improvement from last season.
