Syracuse Draws 1-1 with Pittsburgh

By: Nick Kuzma

CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter

In the 51st minute after a collision, the whistle blew, the referee walked over to SU Forward Luther Archimede and raised a yellow card over his head. It was his second of the match, resulting in the flash of a red card before the crowd of over 1,700 at SU Soccer Stadium.

For the next 44 minutes, Syracuse (3-2-4, 0-1-2 Atlantic Coast) played down a man, until Pittsburgh’s Veljko Petkovic earned his second yellow and a red in the first overtime period.

Still, the Orange had chances to win the game, in a 1-1 double-overtime draw against the Pittsburgh Panthers (3-3-2, 1-1-1 Atlantic Coast).

“Look, we were trying to pick [our] poison [when down a man],” said SU Head Coach Ian McIntyre. “[We were trying to] keep the game in front of us, and we had a couple of chances even down a guy to kind of hit them on the counterattack.”

Syracuse’s defense and goaltending held tight keeping Pitt from scoring on nine shots during the stretch playing down a man.

Luther Archimede’s second red card resulted in his second ejection of the season.

“He’s a young emotional player, I’ve got to see the tape,” said McIntyre.

When asked about if he thinks Archimede should have received a second yellow card, McIntyre said he wanted to review the game tape before any further comment.

Though there were chances for the Orange to take the lead, Pittsburgh had their own opportunities to win the match as well.

The Cuse relied heavily on Goalkeeper Christian Miesch who recorded eight saves and secured the tie.

“Goalkeepers are there to make saves,” said McIntyre, “and I thought he was terrific.”

Despite how well Miesch played, he was somber after the game.

“I wanna win games, I’m disappointed you can see it in my face,” Miesch said. “I’ll watch the film. I’ll watch the tape. I thought I did well in the 2nd Half. I wasn’t too solid in the 1st Half, I believe, and, at the end of the day, I’m disappointed because we didn’t win.”

The feeling of frustration was palpable. The match was Syracuse’s fourth tie of the season. Both the players and McIntyre have said that they felt like they could have won all of those games.

“If we’re sitting here and we lose this game, I’m not as happy as I am now,” said McIntyre. “Now, having said that, we had chances.”

Next up, the Orange play their second to last non-conference opponent of the year. SU will host Albany on Tuesday.

“We gotta be ready to go on Tuesday, said SU Forward Massimo Ferrin. “They’re a good team, and it’s an important game. Midweek games are very important when working towards getting yourself into the tournament at the end of the year.”

This game will be Syracuse’s final home game before a two-game road trip in North Carolina.

Kickoff versus the Great Danes is set for 7 o’clock on October 1 at SU Soccer Stadium.

npkuzma@syr.edu | @nkuz71