The postseason odds are against the Syracuse men’s soccer team, which slipped into the Big East Championships when Villanova beat DePaul, 3-1, on Monday night.

The Orange, ranked sixth in the Big East’s Red Division, will play the Blue Division’s third seed, Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind., at 7 p.m. It’s the first time in five seasons the Orange has qualified for the Big East tournament. SU fell to Connecticut in its last appearance, 2-0, in the first round in 2000.

Historically, that’s how things went for SU, which holds a 7-10-0 all-time record in conference tournament play, 1-4 under current head coach Dean Foti. Today poses another tough matchup for the Orange (7-8-3, 3-7-1 Big East) as it takes on the Fighting Irish (10-6-2, 6-4-1), which beat SU, 1-0, on Sept. 18th at SU Soccer Stadium. Also, Notre Dame holds an 8-2-1 all-time record versus Syracuse. None of that seems to bother Foti, though.

‘I don’t place a lot of stock in that,’ Foti said. ‘It’s two different teams. If this were the pros and teams just had the same rosters year after year after year, you might think, ‘Here we go again,’ but it’s different teams with different players.’

Foti used Oneonta State as an example. The Red Dragons downed the Orange, 2-0, this year after having been defeated nine straight seasons by SU.

The Orange had the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth on their own Saturday against Villanova but lost, 1-0. That left SU needing a DePaul loss Monday night to sneak into the playoffs.

‘We have to recognize that every game is a different game,’ said senior Ezra Prendergast, who missed the bulk of the Notre Dame game with a knee injury. ‘You cannot come and think about yesterday; yesterday has passed. We can just concentrate on the game at hand and try to do our best to win that game.’

The fact the Orange didn’t find out about making the playoffs until Monday night also rushed the team’s preparation.

‘It’s been good, but quick,’ Foti said in regards to SU’s practices.

The Orange practiced in a short session on Monday night and again in more depth on Tuesday, but Foti said that at this point in the season there is not much to work on. It’s just about becoming familiar with the opponent, an opponent the Orange is already familiar with and a team SU came close to beating.

‘It was a good opportunity for the guys to see them and what they’re about,’ Prendergast said of Notre Dame. ‘It gives us a good idea of what they like to do and what they don’t like to do.’

The SU-ND winner moves on to the second round of the Big East Championships against No. 23 St. John’s, the Blue Division’s second seed, on Saturday. The Orange fell to the Red Storm on Oct. 5, 1-0.

‘We need to make sure that we’re sound defensively and that we’re patient until we get our chances on offense,’ Foti said. ‘Then when we get them, have the composure to stick them away.’

Published on November 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm