Syracuse Falls In Overtime To NC State
By Jared Johnston
CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. – Syracuse men’s soccer has struggled to get results this season because they forget to hone in on all the small things. Tonight was no different, as the Orange dominated much of the game offensively, but faltered with mental lapses at key moments of the match to concede a loss 2-1 at NC State in overtime.
At the beginning, the Orange got off to a flying start thanks to Deandre Kerr. The freshman striker had only registered one shot on goal in his last five starts, but finally found a finishing touch in the 2nd minute. Kerr slotted home a pass from Noah Singelmann, who continues to lead the team in production with a tally of three goals and four assists.
The hot start the Cuse found wouldn’t go out instantly, but it was never added on to. SU found themselves controlling the tempo of the game, funneling in offensive chances to finish with seven shots to NC State’s four after 45 minutes.
The key to securing a victory is to stay in check for a full 90, but Syracuse would switch off in the 15th minute after Pablo Pedregosa picked up a rebound to equalize. Starting goalkeeper Russell Shealy did his job against George Asomani, which was to make the first save. The second chance opportunities are often up to the defensive line to clean up, and in failing to do so the first half ended tied at 1-1. The team continued to threaten offensively with substitute Stephen Betz rocketing a shot off the crossbar late in the half, but couldn’t cash in.
In the second half, SU did more of the same. The Cuse outshot the Wolfpack five to one but only managed one shot on goal. As a result, Syracuse and NC State were tied at the end of a full 90 minutes and had to continue into overtime.
You would have thought that the Orange would have been ready to control the potential overtime periods and at least retain a point. Coach Ian McIntyre’s squad put out a strong 110 minutes against #15 UNC last week, but their mental toughness failed to bleed through to the finish of this contest.
In the 94th minute, Aidan Foster sealed the deal for NC State to claim a 2-1 overtime victory with a golden goal.
While this season has been a learning curve for many players, this matchup felt like it could have been a turning point. Deandre Kerr was electric with his movement finishing with five shooting tries along with his goal.
The main problem after the mental lapses on defensive errors was that the offense was not clinical enough. SU doubled NC State’s shots at twelve to six, but only managed two shots on goal to the Wolfpack’s three. When you give up a lead and can’t reel it back, a result without plenty of good fortune is hard to come by.
The Orange is scheduled to play Saint Francis next Tuesday at 3 PM. With no official venue determined at the moment, stay tuned to my Twitter handle for live updates on the contest.
jjohns05@syr.edu | @jaredjohnstontv
