Syracuse Men’s Soccer closes rollercoaster season against Pitt

Syracuse Men’s Soccer hosted No. 3 three Pitt last night on the hill to finish the regular season. On a chilly autumn night, expectations were low for SU. The Orange had themselves a rollercoaster of a season and were without star forward Nicholas Kaloukian. However, this game was a spark that should put Syracuse in the right direction come tournament time.

The scoring started early, more specifically, in the fifth minute of play. Midfielder Krisjan Fortier hit a shot in the bottom-right corner of the net to make it 1-0 in favor of SU. His goal was unassisted since it came off a deflection by a Pitt defender. It was the freshman’s second goal of the season.

On the other side of the ball, the Orange allowed more shots on goal than the Panthers. Fortunately for Syracuse, goalkeeper Tomas Hut brought his a-game against the attack by Pitt. The senior finished the game with five saves and was pivotal in the outcome of the match.

Everything was looking good for the Orange until foul trouble arrived. SU totaled five fouls near the end of regulation. Even though SU was still up, the chances of winning the match were bleak.  

All of a sudden, the offense stepped it up a notch. Midfielder Nathan Scott scored a nasty goal off an assist by Chimere Omeze in the 70th minute. It was the sophomore’s second goal of the season, and it stemmed from a corner kick, which has not been a strength for the Orange. 

In general, SU’s offense has not been the best this year, especially against conference foes. It is a bad sign when a team has more goals allowed than goals scored, but the Orange are trying to put that narrative past them in the upcoming ACC tournament.

After the final horn blew, Syracuse rushed the field with mounds of joy. It just beat a top-3 team after a regular season that had some disappointing moments. Head Coach Ian McIntyre was proud of the boys for overcoming a ton of adversity and getting the job done at home. More specifically, he was thankful that the seniors got to experience a win in their final game on the hill.

“They just left it all out there, Burko, Tomas Hut, all of the seniors,” McIntyre said. “Congratulations to Pitt, they’re terrific, that’s a team that may win the National Championship. They are that good this year. I thought we deserved it tonight; our guys worked hard throughout the game.”

Syracuse is set to take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem this Wednesday at 7 in the opening round of the ACC tournament. SU is seeded at 12 this year, and facing the fifth seed should be a tough contest.