Men’s Soccer Drops Third Game in a Row

By James Groh

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse men’s soccer lost to North Carolina State, 2-1. It’s the third loss in a row for the Orange, marking the second time that SU has lost three games in a row this season.

The Orange was scored on seven minutes into the game. Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said that the teams that score first have the upper hand for the rest of the game.

“It would have been nice to get that early goal and then the game would have calmed down,” McIntyre said. “Goals change matches and they got that first one…We dug ourselves into a hole.”

NC State scored two goals in the first half, which sealed the deal for the Wolfpack. The nail in the coffin was the second goal.

Syracuse’s Kamal Miller tried clearing the ball on the left side from the Orange’s defensive third. It ricocheted off an NC State’s players back and fell to the feet of Julius Duchscherer. He flicked it onto Tanner Roberts with a back heel. This initiated a one-two pass sequence. Roberts took one touch, then played a square ball back across the 18-yard box to an oncoming Duchscherer. The NC State midfielder opened up his body and struck a low curving shot passed SU goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert.

“We shot ourselves in the foot and faced the task of trying to win the game two nil down,” said captain Mo Adams.

It has been the same story for Syracuse the past few games. SU has had good opportunities in the beginning of the match, but it’s the opponent that has been able to capitalize first on its chances.

Syracuse had the first two opportunities of the game and outshot NC State nine to five, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Oranges current skid.

“On their first opportunity they score, said Syracuse midfielder Jonathan Hagman. “We continue going creating a lot of chances. We are not scoring. They score on their second chance. Second half we did a lot, but not enough.”

It was in the second half that the Orange found some life. A penalty kick was awarded to Syracuse after a Hagman shot hit the arm of a defender in the NC State 18-yard box. Miller stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted the ball into the right side netting.

Syracuse found a second wind in the second half.

“We knew we had to push,” Hagman said. “We were down two nothing. We had nothing else to lose.”

The SU forwards seemed to have more spring in their step, defenders were the first to each 50/50 ball, and Hilpert made a few diving saves.

However, Syracuse’s one-dimensional attack was well defended by NC State. The Orange continued to send long through balls to forwards Tajon Buchanan and Hugo Delhommelle in hopes they would be able to beat a few defenders as well as the keeper.

The Orange looked the most dangerous from the seven corners it had, but only a few times was someone able to make contact with the ball. More so, with four minutes left to play, Syracuse had two corners, but each time it sailed over everyone’s head and went out for a goal kick.

Syracuse has dropped six of its last seven games. This current three game losing streak isn’t deterring the Syracuse psyche.

“The season is not over till it’s over,” Miller said. “We are good enough to beat absolutely anyone in the country.”

McIntyre echoed the sentiment, saying that even though the upcoming schedule is tough and features two teams ranked in the top five, his team is up to the task.

Syracuse (5-6-1, 0-4-1 ACC) has a week off before it takes on Boston College (3-8, 0-5 ACC) in Chestnut Hill next Friday. Both teams will look to get its first ACC win of the season.