The Syracuse Orange men’s soccer team now has a schedule to look forward to for the spring season. Every year the squad is able to get a few games in during the spring in order to get a look at the new look squad. It’s always a decent gauge to start getting a feel for the team without the recent graduates and those who turned professional.
This year, the Orange are looking at a slate of six games, two home and four away. The season opener will be away to Penn State a week from Saturday, on February 25. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 8-8-2 campaign in the Big Ten and should start the spring season off with a challenge.
The Orange then travel down the Thruway to take on the Rochester Rhinos at Sahlen’s Stadium on March 3. Nothing wrong with testing the young squad against professionals and the USL side should give them a good test.
2017 Syracuse Men's Soccer Spring Schedule#DaretoDream
— SU Men's Soccer (@CuseMSOC) February 13, 2017
For more info: https://t.co/lOtiw8vSi6 pic.twitter.com/laIchtOtjY
The slate then picks up away to LeMoyne, home against Canada’s Vaughan SC, away to Colgate and home against perennial JuCo powerhouse Herkimer County Community College. The final tally sits at four away contests and two home.
To be fair, two of the “away” games are at Colgate and LeMoyne, so we’re not travelling down to Miami or anything for them and it could be a solid springtime road trip if you’re looking to hit up the match in Hamilton and grab some Good Nature beer.
The match at LeMoyne should be a fun one, and if we keep playing it as a spring game, it needs a name. I’ve dubbed it the University Hill Derby (maybe just the Hill Derby?), but we’re open to changing things around here and if you’ve got something, I’ll probably run with it.
This should be a fun spring slate and it will be interesting to see what Coach McIntyre does with the shape and personnel, having lost as much talent as they have. If past is precedent, then he’ll definitely have a solid, tactically functional and astute squad trotted out for the opener.