Since a Sept. 23 loss to Providence, the Syracuse men’s soccer team scored a total of one goal in six games. SU won one of those six games and moved to the bottom of the Big East.

The Orange hadn’t played terribly in its tough streak, surrendering only five goals, but SU didn’t finish its scoring opportunities.

Against No. 18 Cincinnati on Saturday, the Orange came through on those opportunities, upsetting the Bearcats, 2-1.

SU (6-6-2, 2-5-1 Big East) got off to an early start, scoring both goals in the game’s first seven minutes. Senior Ezra Prendergast scored off a corner kick from Isaac Collings 57 seconds into the match. The score was the fastest in school history, and Prendergast’s first of the year.

Five minutes in, senior Mike McCallion shot from right to left, slipping the ball under Bearcat keeper Mike Vessells, but wide left across the front of the net.

Only seconds later, junior Richard Asante scored for the second time this year, taking the ball right from under a Cincinnati (7-5-2, 4-2-2) attacker and driving a 25-foot shot into the top right corner of the net.

All of a sudden, the Syracuse offense came alive.

‘I think we came out with a purpose,’ Syracuse head coach Dean Foti said. ‘The guys were very determined to get off to a good start and it showed.’

The Orange would continue to have opportunities throughout the first half, but could not convert. Then the rains came.

‘It was a weird night,’ Foti said. ‘I think we stopped playing the minute the weather turned.’

For a period of about 10 minutes halfway through the first half, the skies opened up over Syracuse Soccer Stadium, dropping torrential rains and strong winds on the pitch. Cincinnati began to make a big push at that point, reeling off 17 total shots in the contest.

The Bearcats continued to push after halftime and, midway into the second period, Syracuse sophomore Brad Peetoom was whistled for a foul in the box, granting Bearcat midfielder Sam Miller a free kick on SU freshman keeper Rob Cavicchia. Cavicchia had stopped a penalty kick against St. John’s three games before.

‘If the goalkeeper’s quick and he’s got good instincts, it forces the shooter to have to make a good shot,’ Foti said. ‘Rob (Cavicchia) makes a field player have to make a good shot.’

Even so, it just wasn’t meant to be on the attempt, as Miller put the ball right and Cavicchia dove left.

‘Usually I’m pretty good with (penalty kicks), but this one managed to slip past me,’ Cavicchia said.

It was at that point where the ‘third-goal syndrome’ kicked in, Foti said. The syndrome states that with two goals netted in the game, the third score gives momentum to the team that recorded it. On Saturday, though, it worked in reverse.

‘Our guys realized we have to start playing again,’ explained Foti. ‘I felt that woke us up a bit.’

Syracuse did wake up and shut down a Cincinnati barrage of shots as the game came to a close. Cavicchia just stayed calm and took business as usual.

‘The whole game I’m just trying to keep it out of the net,’ Cavicchia said. ‘Yes, there’s more pressure and you have to deal with the pressure, but it’s the same thing. Just keep (the ball) out.’

The task ahead for Syracuse is to replicate Saturday’s results. Cavicchia used an Oct. 9 win over South Florida as an example. The win was a confidence booster, but it didn’t carry over to a loss against Oneonta State the next game. This time, he said, the lesson is learned – the Orange won’t let its guard down.

Foti, however, believed the jury was still out for SU’s next two games.

‘We’ve got to come out and be ready to play against Colgate on Tuesday, and then we’ve got to come out and be ready to put in a good effort and have a good showing when we go down to Louisville,’ Foti said.

Published on October 16, 2005 at 12:00 pm