Men’s soccer ties Charlotte

The Syracuse Orange Men’s Soccer team had its toughest test early in the season, hosting a talented Charlotte team late Thursday. 

The end result was a draw, 2-2, which both teams could walk away happy about. 

The Orange and 49ers both scored twice, with the Orange taking a 1-0 lead, and eventually knotting up the game before the final whistle blew. 

“This is exactly what we needed”, Cuse’ Head Coach Ian McIntyre said following the performance from his team. “This will get us better for the rest of the year.”

It was a near picture perfect start for McIntyre’s team when Nicholas Kaloukian netted the first goal of the game off a center ball from Gabe Threadgold. 

The Syracuse squad laid back the pressure following the early lead. Many defensive miscuses, one giving 49ers forward Jaedon Richardson a shot at the net, which he fully took advantage of. 

“We gotta keep our foot on the gas, we kind of pulled back a little bit,” Kaloukian said. “Second half we really came back out there.”

The Orange came back from halftime with a new level of focus by controlling the possession of the ball and keeping the offensive pressure up. 

The second half pressure from the Cuse’ was successful until a 70′ minute beauty by Kristjan Fortier. The ball found the 17-year-old outside the box and he sent a stinger into the top corner to even the score. 

“I’ll enjoy it”, Coach McIntyre said about rewatching the beautiful finish from Fortier. “He’s [Fortier] got that technique”. 

Photo by Jack Henry

Defender Ben Rosenblatt threads the needle between two Charlotte defenders during their game on Thursday.

Photo by Jack Henry

Charlotte players celebrate after taking a 2-1 lead at the end of the first half.

The game was physical. Four yellow cards were handed out in a five minute span, and six total given by the referees. One of those cards, given to the Charlotte bench for disagreeing with a no call, ultimately had no effect on the final score. 

Both teams had late opportunities to win in convincing victory, including a 89’ free kick for the Orange and last minute chance from the 49ers.

This game could potentially help Syracuse and be a great example of where to improve as the year goes on. 

“The glass is half full for me today”, McIntyre said. “They’re [Charlotte] from North Carolina, they don’t play anyone else in our conference, because everyone knows how difficult they are”.

While Syracuse didn’t get the victory, this game showed where they are as a team. The Orange now sit at 2-0-1 on the young season. Charlotte is now 1-1-0 following the draw.

The Orange now look ahead to Labor Day against Le Moyne, ahead of their ACC opener against Boston College Sept. 6.