Men's Soccer

Syracuse men’s soccer off to best start in program history with 3-1 win at Cornell

Jonathan Colon | Contributing Photographer

Syracuse won its eighth straight game to begin the season on Tuesday night. SU beat Cornell, 3-1.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ian McIntyre didn’t think this would happen.

It took Syracuse two years to win five games in the head coach’s first two seasons, 2010 and 2011. In those years, the Orange was winless on the road. Yet Syracuse, a team that only five years ago went 3-12-1, is now near the top of college soccer.

Since SU’s program began in 1920, no team has erupted to the start this year’s team has — eight wins, no ties and no losses. Syracuse’s dominant 3-1 win over Cornell on Tuesday night marked one of the highest moments for the program that’s only recently earned its reputation as one of the best teams in the country. The No. 2 Orange (8-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) dominated Cornell (0-6-2) at Charles F. Berman Field on Tuesday night.

Syracuse’s previous best start was 7-0 in 1984. Asked on Monday whether he expected a start like this, McIntyre was blunt.

“No,” the head coach said, “because when you look at our schedule, you see a number of very good teams.”



SU most recently dominated then-No. 15 Boston College last Friday. It beat Loyola Marymount, 2-1, in double overtime. A week later, Syracuse overcame its first deficit of the season with a Miles Robinson goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation against St. John’s, then a Jonathan Hagman game-winner in overtime.

Against North Carolina State, seniors Chris Nanco and Oyvind Alseth stepped up in the Orange’s first conference game of the year. While Syracuse still must play No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 7 Clemson, it’ll let this one settle. In the postgame huddle, McIntyre joked with his players about the last time assistant coach Jukka Masalin has been a part of a team as dominant as this Syracuse team. It goes back to when the coach was 12.

Entering Tuesday’s contest, Syracuse’s 0.41 goals against average ranked ninth in the nation. And SU played the same shutout defense. Save for the opening minutes and a Cornell goal, Syracuse controlled possession. The Orange tallied 16 shots on goal. Cornell mustered just one — its 32nd -minute goal.

Big Red freshman forward George Pedlow broke a scoreless tie late in the first half when he struck a ball from the right wing that beat Louis Cross and rushed past SU goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert.

“I smell an ‘L,’ Syracuse” a Cornell fan yelled. More than 10 minutes later, Hilpert shook his head and spit. “Come on,” he yelled from across the field after an SU turnover.

JonathanColon_CP-6

Jonathan Colon | Contributing Photographer

Syracuse had gone over 340 minutes without allowing a goal, spanning the last three and a half games. That’s the longest stretch SU had held opponents scoreless since 2014.

As halftime neared, momentum shifted toward the Orange. A ball found Robinson near the net. The sophomore headed it in the right corner less than two minutes before the break. It was Robinson’s third goal of the season, tying for second on the team. It also knotted the game at one.

“I thought that was really the turning point the game,” Alseth said. “If we wouldn’t have gotten that goal, it would have been a long night for us.”

As the scoreboard clock ticked down to zero, Nanco rocketed a ball off the left goal post, producing a ring. It missed by only inches but showed Syracuse was knocking on the door, on the verge of breaking through and revealing its true dominance. Dominance that hours before the game earned SU a No. 2 ranking, up three spots from the week prior.

At halftime, Syracuse didn’t leave the playing area. Players stayed on the field near the bench. After a brief team meeting, SU took the field. In the ensuing minutes, it took the lead and tacked on insurance en route to the best start in program history.

“Second half, I thought we were outstanding,” McIntyre said. “This was an opportunity for the guys to write their names in the record books … I still think there’s a lot of soccer left in these boys down the stretch.”

Six minutes into the second half, Alseth received a ball on the right wing, surveyed his options, accelerated down the sideline. He had swung a right-footed cross and placed it through a flock of defenders. A deflection brought the ball to the feet of Liam Callahan, who  came out of seemingly nowhere and pounded it home to put the Orange up, 2-1.

It still kind of hasn’t settled in,” Callahan said. “It kind of just feels like another game for me.”

Except this wasn’t just another game.

In the 73rd minute, Hagman scored his third goal of the year to make it 3-1. Despite facing a first-half deficit, the Orange left Ithaca, New York unscathed.





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