Syracuse men’s soccer dominates Loyola in one-sided affair

For a brief moment during Monday night’s match between Loyola (4-4-4) and Syracuse (10-2-1), it seemed that the Greyhounds had a real chance to make a comeback. Several shots on goal to start the second half signaled a momentum swing. Finally, in minute 57, Loyola forward Kelan Swales scored on a penalty kick.

In response, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre put the starters back into the game.

Loyola’s hope immediately faded away. They seldom had a chance to score again as the Orange doubled down on the first half’s goal total to win the game 6-1. 

Loyola received the ball to start the match, but they didn’t hold onto it for long. Just three minutes into the game, Syracuse midfielder Giona Leibold sent a cross into the box, which forward Levonte Johnson delivered into the net for his fourth goal of the season. Two minutes later, the Orange added another goal to their lead with midfielder Amferny Sinclair assisting Nathan Opoku for an effortless tap-in.

“As a team, I would say we have a great mentality. We know what we want to achieve together and plan to do something special this year,” Opoku said.

Loyola’s only first-half scoring opportunity came in minute 33. The referee deemed Syracuse defender Buster Sjoberg‘s sliding challenge against Swales a foul, awarding a free kick to the Greyhounds just outside the Syracuse box.  Goalkeeper Russell Shealy covered the shot, but he couldn’t control the ball, which slipped out of his grasp right in front of the net. Loyola forward Daniel Tshiani tried to finish the point, but his high shot was headed away by Sjoberg to end the scoring chance.

In minute 36, Syracuse followed up Loyola’s missed opportunity with an attack of their own. Jeorgio Kocevski and Curt Calov got their names on the stat sheet with a crossing assist and a well-placed header, respectively. 

Calov came close to getting his second goal from a Syracuse throw-in a few minutes later. He received the ball near the corner of the pitch and immediately lost his defender with a spin move. Calov ran down the endline, side-stepping a slide tackle from a Loyola player. The chance ended after the Loyola defense managed to deflect his pass, but Calov’s flashy play was another example of the quality Syracuse showed in the first half.

“I’m very pleased. I thought we started extremely well. It was an excellent first-half performance,” McIntyre said.