Syracuse Men’s Soccer Remains Winless at Home
Syracuse has yet to win a game at home this season, following a 1-0 defeat to Duquesne. Their record now stands at 2-2-1 with ACC play fast approaching.
The game had a similar feel when Syracuse played Yale last time out. Although Duquesne didn't sit as low as Yale did, in the first half, Syracuse controlled much of the possession as they tried to unlock Duquesne's defense, but lacked that final pass.
Attacking Play
The Orange heavily used the left-hand side with Sachiel Ming and Ernest Mensah Jr., who looked to play off with each other's movement, whether it was overlapping runs or combination plays, as they looked to get the ball into the box. Carlos Zambrano also offered a third-man option, trying to disorganize the Duquesne defense to create space for either Ming or Mensah Jr. to run into.
Tactical Setup From The Orange
Syracuse's shape in possession saw their two center backs, Tim Brdaric and Garrett Holman, split wide, and either Nathan Scott or Tim Noeding dropped in between the two to get on the ball as they looked to spray balls out wide. The movement of the center backs enabled Kelvin Da Costa and Mensah Jr, the two outside backs, to roll high and occupy more of the width so they wouldn't be on the same plane as the wingers of Ming and Chimere Omeze. This tactical shift in formation while in possession allowed Syracuse to circulate the ball around their attacking third, having pinned Duquesne back at the top of their box. The Orange lacked that final ball to give them a genuine scoring chance. The shots Syracuse generated throughout the game didn't threaten Duquesne's keeper, Diego Chavez.
Out of possession, Syracuse looked to win the ball back immediately with high pressure, making it difficult for Duquesne to string passes together. Even on goal kicks, Coach McIntyre had the front three of Ming, Zambrano, and Bright Nutornutsi stand just outside on top of the penalty box, daring Duquesne to build from the back. When the Dukes tried to build, they turned the ball over immediately from either long balls or losing the ball in their defensive third.
Duquesne's First Chance At Goal
The rare occasion when Duquesne was in their attacking third nearly resulted in a goal. Duquesne worked the ball nicely to get service into the box, and Syracuse partially cleared their lines, which gave Duquesne two chances at goal, with the second a shot from Grant McIntosh that took a dangerous deflection just going wide of the post.
The Goal
In the second half, Duquesne came out of their low block and tried to take the game to Syracuse, which they did. The opening minutes saw Duquesne possess the ball more than they did in all of the first half.
The game's only goal came off a mistake from Holman. Aswin Menon played a long ball over the top on the right-hand side for Bendix Bennetzen to run onto. Holman was already goal side and misplaced his pass to keeper Tomas Hut as he moved to create a better passing angle for Holman, which Hakon Dagur Matthiasson ran onto the loose ball in front of the goal and put it in the back of the net.
On A Positive Note
Despite the result, Coach McIntyre was able to turn to captain Giona Leibold as he was available for the first time since September 20th, 2024.
"He is still a long way away from the Giona Leibold that we know, but to see him on the pitch today was terrific," Coach McIntyre said.
What did Coach McIntyre Say?
Following the match, Coach McIntyre shared his thoughts on what needs to be addressed.
"We did enough to get something out of this result, but we didn't take our chances," Coach McIntyre said. "But look, they'll come. If we keep creating and get numbers in [the box], we'll score goals."
What's Next?
The Orange will face New Haven on Monday at home. This is New Haven's first season playing at the Division I level. The Chargers' record is 2-0-1, as they drew Dartmouth last time out.
Previously Published on CuseNation for 247 Sports
