Syracuse vs. Hofstra - 8/28/15
The Syracuse Orange Men's Soccer Team didn't expect to be continuing their road trip without a victory under their belt. They seemed to thoroughly outplay their opposition in the opener and just could not put the ball in the back of the net. What had been a minor thing that the defense could mask last year, this year is a different story.
Syracuse outshot Hofstra 19-9 with 11 shots on goal versus 4 for Hofstra. They bossed the midfield, they were able to do what they wanted through out the match. However, as soccer can be quite fickle, the hands of fate decided that they needed to go down to ten men, while down a goal. lm pretty sure some teams would have folded, but it looks that this one has some spunk and resolve.
The squad fought back, after conceding the penalty to go down 2-0, but never stopped their onslaught on net. Some better touch in the final third or a little more clinical finishing and this very simply could have been a Syracuse victory, but Hofstra stayed strong and walked away with 2-1 victory.
Freshman Austin Aviza looked solid if inexperienced, registering two saves on the four shots on goal, one of which was the penalty that sent off Sophomore Liam Callahan with a yellow card accumulation red. The loss ended the Orange's 17 game regular season non-conference winning streak. They looked to start it back up this Sunday against Bucknell.
Syracuse vs. Bucknell - 8/30/15
The second game of the year ended in the desired three points for the Orange. Kenny Lassiter, the sophomore forward finished a beautiful backheel flick from Chris Nanco in the fifth minute of overtime for his first career goal and the golden goal for the match.
The Orange pushed the tempo straight from the first whistle and brought it to Bucknell. They did leave themselves a bit exposed on the counter, though they didn't pay for it, mostly due to a masterclass by Aviza. Louis Cross did as well as possible marshaling a very young defense around him.
"I thought we played well and created some good scoring chances," McIntyre said. "We're still a work in progress. One of the positives from this game is the number of young players who played and started. To come away with a victory is a step in the right direction." - Cuse.com Recap Article
On the offensive end, Korab Syla, Julian Buescher and Oyvind Alseth stood a good bit above the rest. Syla's crosses were consistently accurate to the posts, though rarely with someone finishing the run. Buescher was a threat every time he touched the ball and Alseth was all over the field in various positions making trouble for the Bison.
Overall the Orange outshot Bucknell, 19-13, controlling the tempo in the first half as well as late and into overtime. Aviza finished with nine saves on the night, a career high.
The Orange Home Opener is this Friday at 2pm against UC Riverside. Head on out and catch that before you start your tailgating for the Football Home Opener at 7pm.