HAMILTON — All season, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre has demanded his players put pressure on the opposing midfield when SU doesn’t have possession.  The Orange’s constant running and intensity has not been enough to shake defenses, though — they hadn’t snatched a goal directly off a defensive error all season.

In the opening minute of Tuesday night’s match at Colgate, it wasn’t a conscious error that rewarded SU for its pressure. Rather, it was a stroke of luck. Raiders’ defender Dominic Galietta gathered the ball, turned and slipped. The ball fell directly in Massimo Ferrin’s path and the SU striker made no mistake in a one-on-one with Colgate goalkeeper Jacob Harris. Ferrin took his time as he approached the net and calmly passed the ball beyond the lunging left leg of Harris for his third goal of the season.

“It was early in the game, we wanted to get pressure on the ball,” Ferrin said. “We like to play a high-pressure game all the time. Especially in the first minute, the legs are fresh.”

Ferrin’s swift reaction was the difference as Syracuse (3-2-3, 0-1-1 Atlantic Coast) gained its first away win of the season against Colgate (1-2-5, 0-0-1 Patriot), 1-0, on a clear Tuesday night at Beyer-Small ‘76 Field. The Orange couldn’t capitalize on numerous opportunities later in the game, but a strong defensive performance and the desire to get forward was enough to limit the Raiders’ chances en route to SU’s second shutout of 2019.

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Following Ferrin’s opening score, Syracuse continued to dominate. The next 25 minutes saw SU ring off three shots and constantly put the ball in dangerous areas. Midfielders Ryan Raposo, Hilli Goldhar and Julio Fulcar drove at back-tracking Colgate defenders and sent through balls to Ferrin, looking to pit the striker one-on-one with Harris again.

Ferrin came close to tabbing his second goal during that stretch, but Harris’ precise timing off his line denied him. Just minutes after his opener, he was barely beaten by the Colgate goalkeeper off a lobbed through ball from Raposo. Fulcar then slid the Mississauga, Ontario native through on the right side of the penalty area, but Harris was quickest again. Despite Ferrin resorting to the bench for the final 15 minutes of the first half, Syracuse maintained its unwavering pressure on the Raiders’ defense.

“We definitely felt like we deserved a second, that would have killed the game off a little more,” Ferrin said. “It was just that last pass or a good save from the goalkeeper. We should have had at least one more.”

Raposo and Noah Singelmann, the hero in SU’s overtime bout against Cornell a week prior, became the Orange’s primary attacking threats. No matter how clear-cut the scoring chance, however, Syracuse was second best to Harris. The Brookline, Massachusetts native made three stellar stops in the final 15 minutes of the first half.

First, Harris’ leg save pushed the ball inches wide of the right post, keeping defender Matt Orr from tallying his first goal for SU. Singelmann advanced into a similar position on the right side of the penalty area soon after but his effort was swatted away by Harris’ outstretched right arm. Six minutes later, Raposo lost his defender with a flawless turn and aimed toward the bottom left corner, only to be met by a diving Harris. 

“Their goalie pulled off a couple of great saves,” McIntyre said. “It kept them alive.”

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While the Raiders’ backline tamed the Orange’s attack in the second half, the home team began to move forward more frequently. Syracuse’s plentiful options in the attack meant sparse numbers in defense, a deficiency Colgate tried to capitalize on through counter-attacks and long balls. The center back pairing of Nyal Higgins and Dylan McDonald consistently got to the ball first and cleared them away. 

“It’s all about communicating and we did that really well,” Higgins said. “When you’re up a goal, the idea is to just defend, defend, defend.”

The Raiders finished with seven shots, the second-fewest Syracuse has allowed this season, even though SU’s second-half performance wasn’t nearly as prolific as in the first. The visitors managed five more shots, none of which required saving by Harris. Much of the period, particularly the final 15 minutes, was spent in SU’s defensive half. The Orange’s defensive unit was forced to clear several long throw-ins and two late corner kicks.

Although Syracuse’s second-half showing left something to be desired, McIntyre commended the Orange’s ability to hold a lead for 89 minutes, he said. While SU believed it should have added more goals, the Orange left Hamilton with two accomplishments that are hard to come by, according to McIntyre: an away win and a clean sheet.

“We’ll take any way of scoring we can. It was terrific to get on the front foot,” McIntyre said. “We just about got over the line.”

Published on September 24, 2019 at 9:16 pm

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