The streak lasted four hundred and twenty one minutes.

Four games came and went as senior goalkeeper Robert Cavicchia made double-digit saves, as the Orange racked up a 3-0-1 record.

Four hundred and twenty one minutes – it was the amount of time between goals allowed by the Syracuse (4-1-2, 1-1-0) men’s soccer team. In fact, through seven games so far the Orange has blanked its opponent five times.

‘Every game we come out we want to get a shutout out of it,’ said defender Brien Chamney. ‘So we are really pushing that as one of our goals.’

Consider that goal accomplished. Besides the Orange’s only loss of the year (3-0 to No. 3 Notre Dame), Orange has allowed one goal in 580 minutes of play.

Syracuse’s defense has been so stout for a couple of reasons. One is obviously the play of Cavicchia. But also the Orange’s back five – Cavicchia plus SU’s four defenders – have developed good chemistry.

Syracuse head coach Dean Foti agreed with his players about the importance for the five to be working as one collective unit instead of doing five different things.

The captain of keeping the defense on the same page has been Cavicchia.

‘You have to be able to communicate in heat the moment, and you know what needs to be done’ Foti said. ‘He can see everybody on the field so it’s easy for him to direct the four guys in front of him. And they respond because they’ve done it before, they’ve had him behind them before.’

The chemistry Cavichhia has with his defense was not an immediate relationship. It takes time for the defense to learn Cavicchia’s tendencies and vice versa.

‘It’s a lot of practicing,’ said Cavicchia, who has made 27 saves this season. ‘All through preseason, also in the spring we worked together. It just takes (time). Over time it develops.’

There have been a few instances this season where Cavicchia has left the net to attack the ball.

Already this season Chamney and fellow defender Pete Hill bailed their goalie out multiple times. Cavicchia has come out of the net usually in a jump ball situation. Most of the time he gets to the ball but there have been a few instances when he didn’t. One time against Monmouth, it looked like the opponent had a sure goal, but the defense was there to prevent it.

In the heat of the moment, so many obstacles that aren’t practiced can come into play.

‘If I go out the guys know they have to drop in behind me,’ Cavicchia said. ‘They usually have a lot of faith with me going out there and getting the ball. And I have a lot of faith that they’ll be behind me if I do go out and either miss it or if the other team gets the rebound and shoots it.’

That hasn’t happened too often this year. Cavicchia has gotten to most of the loose balls. But the defense has had a more active goalkeeper behind them. It’s in large part due to Cavicchia’s work in the offseason. The senior goalie dedicated his time to decreasing body fat and increasing foot speed so he could get to more loose balls.

‘When you’re a little bit shorter you rely on your feet a lot,’ said Cavicchia, who stands 6-feet tall. ‘You know you can’t just stick your arm out and save the ball. You’ve got to take those extra couple steps.’

Cavicchia has added an extra quickness to his arsenal but it just makes it that much more important for he and the defense to be on the same page.

‘The balls he comes out to get he gets,’ Foti said. ‘The back players have confidence in that so they know if he’s coming out chances are they better get the hell out of the way because he’s going to run them over. And that’s why there does need to be good chemistry back there.’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm