Since the beginning of last season, only forward Emil Ekblom and goalie Alex Bono have started more games than Oyvind Alseth.

But Alseth — who played every game at right back last year and has started eight of Syracuse’s nine games at right wing this year — still has the same number of career goals as the SU keeper. 

Zero.

Despite coming close several times this season and finding other ways to contribute, Alseth still has yet to find the back of the net during his time at SU. He’s been a big part of the Orange’s success as an attacking midfielder, and the position has also granted him more chances than he got last year.

But he’ll continue to look for his first goal when No. 9 Syracuse (8-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) takes on Virginia Tech (7-3, 2-1 ACC) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Virginia.

“I can tell you that I have planned a celebration,” Alseth said. “I don’t want to get too hyped about it because I’ve said a lot of times, ‘Hopefully my first goal will be tonight.’ But hey, you never know.”

In the 70th minute against the Fighting Irish on Sept. 13, Alseth received a cross-field pass in the air from Juuso Pasanen. His initial touch with the outside of his right foot got away, but after winning the ball from UND’s Evan Panken, Alseth took a touch ahead and unleashed from 30 yards out.

His right-footed shot curled away from Notre Dame goalie Patrick Wall. It evaded Wall’s reach, but careened off the right post and away to safety for Notre Dame.

Against Binghamton on Sept. 24, Alseth stood behind a free kick from 30 yards out in the first half. He whipped a low, slicing ball toward goal, but Bearcats keeper Robert Moewes dealt with it comfortably.

The chances haven’t been coming in bulk, but Alseth has seen several other shots go begging. And in the 1-0 games Syracuse has often found itself in, an unexpected goal would help.

“I’ll take a goal from him right now,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said with a smirk.

Even though there have been several games  in which Alseth hasn’t played the full 90 minutes, he’s been instrumental in an Orange midfield that has dominated opponents.

Attacking midfielders such as Alseth and Stefanos Stamoulacatos are constantly covering 18-yard box to 18-yard box, providing a much-needed boost when in the game.

“We’re ready to come in whenever coach needs us,” Stamoulacatos said. “… to make that spark and change the game when the opportunity comes.”

Though Alseth hasn’t changed the game on the scoreboard yet in his Syracuse career, he has done so in other ways. He consistently puts top-notch services into the box, as shown by his five assists, but it’s not the assists he’s being pressured to tally.

Alseth is hearing it from all sides, but with his team ranked in the Top 10 and the defense keeping opponents scoreless in eight games, not breaking the scoring seal seems relatively trivial.

“(McIntyre has) been telling me I better start scoring,” Alseth said. “I’ve been hearing it a lot from my teammates as well, but as long as we keep winning I don’t really care if I score goals or not. That’s the most important thing.”

Published on October 2, 2014 at 12:10 am

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