The Syracuse men’s soccer team closed its eyes while riding this roller-coaster season. It never knew which direction it was going.

But unlike any roller coaster, when SU (8-7-2, 3-5-1 Big East) travels to Storrs, Conn., to face No. 7 Connecticut (12-4, 6-3) this weekend, it’ll strive to finish on a peak rather than another one of the numerous valleys it’s fallen into this year.

With Syracuse in ninth place in the Big East, it must beat UConn and hope Georgetown fails to accumulate two points in its final two games. Though that seems unlikely, it’s SU’s only chance at making the Big East’s postseason. The top eight teams make the conference tournament.

‘It’s unfortunate what has happened to us this season,’ forward Ilias Calaitzidis said. ‘We’re way better than what our record is. If we beat Connecticut, we could still make a statement to the rest of the league.’

Facing the Huskies as an underdog is nothing new for the Orangemen. SU tripped up UConn two years ago, one of only three Connecticut losses on its march to the national championship.

Syracuse sees no reason why a similar situation can’t happen again.

‘We did it two years ago. We went down there when they were No. 1 and beat them,’ forward Guido Cristofori said. ‘Looking at it from their point of view, they could be looking at us going into this game underestimating us. If we go in and play big, we could win.’

While Syracuse is 1-3-1 against teams currently ranked in the Top 25, the Orangemen have proven they can compete — that was clear after SU hosted No. 1 St. John’s. Though the game resulted in a 1-1 tie, the Orangemen dominated the powerhouse Red Storm, outshooting St. John’s, 15-3, after halftime.

‘We’ve actually done well against ranked teams this year,’ Cristofori said. ‘If it wasn’t for the Providence or Villanova loss, we’d be in a really good position. Those losses have come back to haunt us.’

‘We always play to the level of our competition,’ Syracuse forward Jarett Park said. ‘We’ve proved that we could play with anybody.’

Park sat out Wednesday’s game against Cornell after he couldn’t loosen up his strained back. With below-freezing temperatures expected in Storrs this weekend, his playing status is unknown.

But with the emergence of freshmen Jeff Evans and Robert Alexander — each scored his first goal of the season against Cornell — the Orangemen should be all right at forward.

And if SU does its job, the roller coaster may just take another turn in this puzzling up-and-down season.

‘Anytime you can beat a UConn it’s a big thing,’ coach Dean Foti said. ‘We’ve had a lot of positives this season. A win against UConn could be another one.’

Published on October 31, 2002 at 12:00 pm