Men's Soccer

Missed opportunities doom Syracuse in 1-0 overtime loss to Cornell

Josh Shub-Seltzer | Contributing Photographer

Syracuse suffered its second consecutive loss at home on Tuesday night. Before the two losses, SU had not lost at SU Soccer Stadium since October of 2015.

With under two minutes left in the first overtime, Cornell’s Ryan Hill received a through ball from Tyler Bagley and found himself with the Big Red’s first one-on-one opportunity of the game with Syracuse goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert. As Hill neared the edge of the penalty box, he ripped a shot through the legs of Hilpert, the final moment in a night filled with missed offensive opportunities.

“You’re just stunned,” junior forward Adnan Bakalovic said. “We didn’t play as well as we would’ve hoped. We thought we did enough to win the game.”

After the game-winning goal, the Cornell benched mobbed Hill. Near SU’s net, sophomore John-Austin Ricks hunched over on the ground, taking in a loss at home to a team Syracuse hadn’t lost to in more than 15 years. The late score gave No. 11 SU (4-2-2, 0-1-1 Atlantic Coast) its second home loss in as many games, a 1-0 upset at the hands of Cornell (2-4-1). The defeat put the Orange on the wrong side of history, again, losing back-t0-back home games for the first time since October 2011.

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“We came off an emotional loss on Friday,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We were looking for a reaction today and I don’t think we got one.”

Before Hill’s goal, Syracuse’s offense, which entered the game fourth in the ACC in goals, failed to score on Cornell goalkeeper Mitchell Meyer despite ample corner kicks and multiple clean looks. The Orange barraged the Big Red with four corner kicks in the first 11 minutes but Meyer, a senior who made his first start of the season in just his second appearance in net, ended the game with a clean sheet.

Early in the game, it looked like Syracuse would take an early lead. A failed clearance and a goalie deflection gave junior Jonathan Hagman, SU’s leading goal scorer, a chance to put the Orange out in front. The midfielder ripped a shot from two yards away with his right foot and watched as the ball ricocheted off the post. Hagman stood still, his mouth open and hands at his sides.

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Josh Shub-Seltzer | Contributing Photographer

“You have to shake it off,” Hagman said. “You have to move on.”

The Orange constantly pressured a Big Red line that consisted of two freshman starters. Mo Adams triggered give-and-go passes in the midfield, which created space down the sidelines for freshman Tajon Buchanan. But, Cornell often kicked the ball away, conceding a corner kick instead of a cross in transition. Syracuse finished with 11 corner kicks, the second-highest total this season.

Freshman Lukas Rubio subbed in and immediately triggered a breakaway that ended in a missed shot by Simon Triantafillou. Coming out of halftime, Triantafillou almost broke the seal with his own one-on-one against Meyer. The shot went right into the chest of the goalkeeper who dove right.

In the 63rd minute, Hagman connected with a back-heel pass which left Johannes Pieles a clear opportunity at the top of the box. The sophomore forward pushed the shot wide left. Twenty-five minutes later, Hugo Delhommelle had a chance to score the game winner for SU off a free kick from the same spot as Pieles’ miss. The junior transfer’s set piece curved too much and spun left. After the shot, Delhommelle put one hand on his hip and threw the other in the air in frustration.

After the game, Ricks made his way over to the wall next to the SU bench. He held his shirt to his mouth and stared at the ground. Teammates walked over and offered him words of advice but his eyes never wavered. A few feet away, his teammates and head coach tried to explain the upset loss.

“We had a couple of games we won in overtime,” Hagman said. “This time it was our turn to lose one. We weren’t at our best tonight.”





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