Another day, another nail-biting Syracuse Orange victory. Tuesday night, the Orange took on the Hofstra Pride in a non-conference matchup. They left Syracuse Soccer Stadium as 1-0 victors. Johannes Pieles, the freshman from Germany, once again put the Orange on his back with the game winner off a set piece. With around three minutes left in regulation and the Orange assaulting the goal, Sergio Camargo took a shot deflected by the defenders for a corner. From the set piece, Liam Callahan floated a beautifully weighted ball to the near post for Pieles to get his head on for the game winner.
The Orange mixed the lineup up a bit this match and were able to settle into a solid rhythm on offense in the first half. Kenny Lassiter got the nod up top in a two striker set, dropping Pieles back to the number 10 role. It seems the preferred 3-5-2 is still the shape, trotting out Oyvind Alseth as a wingback instead of in the pivot with Mo Adams. Adams in holding, Jonathan Hagman seems the box to box and Pieles is the playmaker at present.
The first half of play was dominated by Syracuse, with Pieles, Lassiter and Chris Nanco all coming close to opening their accounts. The Orange were solid, both switching the attack and playing through the middle. They opened the field up and retained pressure for a good bit of the period. Overall the team looked solid and played some of their best soccer of the year from opening kick until the winner. It would be good to see a few more of those chances put home, but every once in a while you get a match like this that grinds you out.
With the win, the Orange move to 6-0-0 on the season and continue what has been a solid run this season so far. We’ve proven that there are multiple people who can put the ball in the back of the net. Nanco leads the squad with four on the season, Pieles now has netted three. We also have Lassiter (2), Robinson (2), Alseth (1), Hagman (1), and Callahan (1) on the scoresheet. We’re giving Kamal Miller at least a half of a goal for that great strike that deflected off Robinson a few games ago as well.
They’ll be back in action on Friday, September 16, against Boston College in the home opener for ACC play. Try and head out if you’re in the area. It should be a good one.