Men's Soccer

Syracuse’s defense excels in scrimmage win over Colgate, tie against Herkimer

Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre described it as soft.

Herkimer County Community College forward Jermaine Windster was able to corral a bouncing ball, turn and beat the outstretched arm of SU goalie Alex Bono, all while redshirt sophomore defender Brandon Albert was right on his back.

But other than that, Bono and redshirt sophomore goalie Matt Stith didn’t face one shot on goal in two shortened scrimmages against Colagte and Herkimer on Friday night at SU Soccer Stadium.

The Syracuse defense was stout for the majority of the evening, registering a 2-0 shutout against Colgate and a 1-1 draw against Herkimer in the nightcap.

“Just that one breakdown, but other than that we were solid,” Bono said. “The back four has been a really strong point of our team that we’ve really tried to build off of this spring.”



Just 2:57 into the first game against Colgate, junior Nick Perea headed in a free kick from freshman Julian Buescher to give the Orange a quick 1-0 lead.

That’s all the hosts would need, as junior Skylar Thomas and Co. shut down the Raiders from the opening whistle.

Thomas repeatedly muscled the Colgate forwards off the ball and successfully distributed to SU’s midfielders. Junior Jordan Murrell, redshirt sophomore Tyler Hilliard and freshman Oyvind Alseth were equally as efficient, as the entire back four prevented the Raiders from mustering a legitimate scoring threat.

The Syracuse defense communicated on every play, and Thomas thought that helped the unit to a solid performance.

“For a good portion of the game, we were communicating well,” Thomas said. “For the most part we kept a few shots on our own goal, which is good.”

With 28:02 remaining in the 45-minute contest, freshman Emil Ekblom found himself in space 10 yards out with the ball bouncing at his feet. He volleyed a shot across his body and into the bottom left corner to give the Orange a 2-0 lead.

For the remainder of the game, the back four was able to maintain possession and effortlessly swing the ball without any significant pressure from the Raiders, and secured the shutout.

In the first half of the second game against Herkimer, McIntyre started an entirely different back four, and the Generals were able to produce a handful of chances with Syracuse’s backups in.

Although the second unit allowed a goal just before the end of the half, McIntyre remained confident in the ability of the second line of defenders to keep up the same level of intensity.

“I think we’ve got a little bit of depth, and we’ve got some quality,” McIntyre said. “We conceded a little bit of a soft goal, but you give credit to Herkimer.”

Down 1-0 heading into the second 30-minute period, McIntyre brought the first line of defense back on. They stymied Herkimer’s offense, as the only time Stith touched the ball was after the Generals punted it to him as an injury courtesy.

With just over two minutes left, freshman Alex Halis unsuccessfully connected with the ball three times amidst a shuffle inside the six-yard box. The ball eventually trickled out and junior Grant Chong pounced on it, slotting it just inside the left post to equalize the game at one.

From there on out, SU’s defense prevented Herkimer from even coming close to scoring a winner, which was a fitting end to a day in which the Syracuse defense was at the top of its game.

“A couple little mishaps but ups and downs happen in every game,” Bono said. “The back four was great today.”





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