Syracuse Men's Soccer Wins Opener vs Iona
Syracuse, N.Y. – It was a dominant performance from Syracuse to open the season as Coach Ian McIntyre’s improves his season opener record to 9-4 with the Orange.
While 2-0 is not the most drastic margin, this was a game the Orange were in complete control of. Both teams came in wanting to play with possession and get forward but only the Orange were able to do that with regularity.
The first half started a bit sloppy on both sides, only for a few minutes as both squads showed a brief sign of jitters.
Russell Shealy started in net for Syracuse and he would be tested early. There were two shots for Iona in the first half and both of them were on frame in the first seven minutes. Shealy saved both shots which were credited to Joe Wright with the 6th minute look being the most menacing.
The highlight of the first half would come in the 14th minute. Nathan Opoku would score the first goal of the regular season for the Orange. Levonte Johnson fed the ball to Opoku at the 18, he made a move towards the center of the field and found the bottom left corner of the net.
It was a bit of a stalemate for the remainder of the half. Both sides attacked differently in this one once they settled in. Syracuse was trying to take advantage of the space out wide while the Gaels played with some quality and tried to attack through the midfield. Iona did seem uncomfortable when they were not able to control possession. It was clear that both teams wanted to play with the ball, but the Orange did so much better.
That became apparent in a second half that showed glimpses of what this Syracuse team will be capable of. They were relentless with a 14-2 shot advantage after the break, forcing Juan Alfaro Monge to make five saves. The Iona keeper was excellent in the later 45 minutes and kept his team in the game.
The first shot on net came within the first minute of the half on a ricochet that Alfaro Monge saved, a tricky one going to his left. A steady attack would lead to more chances for the Orange and a shot from Julius Rauch would make it 2-0. The pass from Amferny Sinclair led Rauch into a little space and he beat the keeper close side in the bottom right corner.
With around 15:20 left the Gaels would put the ball in the back of the net from a set piece. The offside flag would prevent it from counting but the ball from Jose Silva that found Federico Russo was a beauty.
By the final whistle the Orange would finish with a 19-4 shot advantage while take eight more corners than the Gaels (9-1). It was a strong starting point for the Orange who proved they can win a gritty game where the goals are not as easy to come by.
Making goals hard to come by would be understating the way the backline played for the Orange. Singelmann, Salim, Sjoberg and Curti were the starting back four and they made Shealy’s job easy for the majority of the night. They kept the pressure off and made it extremely difficult to get the ball into the final third let alone a shot on net.
After improving to 1-0 the Orange with have until Sunday to game plan for the Nittany Lions. Syracuse will welcome #21 Penn State to Central New York for a 6:00 p.m. match on the ACC Network.
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