This poor team. This sorry, pitiful team. You can’t help but feel bad for it, really. The Syracuse soccer has built a wall, shielding it from the truth.

Ask player A what’s wrong and he’ll say SU is still in it. The Orangemen just need that big win. That one victory over a top opponent that’ll turn the season around.

Move to player B. It’s a long season. There’s still plenty of games left. Every day in practice the team is getting better. Soon, it’ll all come together.

Player C has the same thoughts. Only he’d like to clarify something. The Orangemen have played well this season. They look good in practice. They just need to carry that over to the game.

Now move outside the wall, beyond the shield, into the real world.

Syracuse is in trouble. Big trouble. The Orangemen stand at 2-5-2. They have more talent than 20 of the Top 25 teams, but can’t pull off the wins. They’re in a stretch where they’ve won one game in their last seven. They’re dead last in the Big East.

Syracuse is duping itself if it thinks any positive is coming out of this season. It’s reached the point where watching SU is like watching an infant trying to walk.

(ITALICS)Oh, look at that. How cute. The team is trying to win. Oh, it’s close. Come on, Syracuse. You can do it. You’re so close. Oh, maybe next time.(ITALICS)

In reality, Syracuse is filled with veterans, potentially prolific scorers and seasoned defenders. And yet, with all that, the Orangemen fail to rank as a top (ITALICS)local(ITALICS) team, let alone national contender.

Syracuse squanders opportunities. It breaks down mentally at critical times. It wallows melancholy after allowing a goal.

Still, the team is confident as always.

‘Our confidence is really high,’ freshman Richard Asante said. ‘We just have to work harder and play well as a team.’

Oh, Lord. The young Asante has learned quickly how to cope with being an SU player – denial.

Just deny that the season is all but over. Look to the positives. The players are trying hard, working their best.

Maybe so. But the bottom line is Syracuse has scored eight goals in nine games with one forward – Jarett Park – who can run past Carl Lewis and another – Kirk Johnson – who came into the season ranked in the top 10 all-time in every SU offensive category.

‘The forwards are doing everything but scoring,’ head coach Dean Foti said. ‘I mean, and I hope you put this in the article, that the forwards are doing everything but scoring.’

‘Everyone thinks that if they’re not scoring, they’re not playing well,’ Foti said. ‘But there’s a lot of things the forwards are required to do. They’re holding balls well. They’re making it difficult for the (opposing) defense to get out on them. They’re winning balls in the air. They’re not doing a bad job.’

Foti played soccer for close to 20 years and has been a head coach for 13 now. So I defer to him on that.

I don’t know why, though, but I just have this feeling that if you don’t score, you will lose. Scoring should be job No. 1. Not whether Johnson can win a ball that he’ll just lose 20 seconds later while trying to dribble, with his head down, alone through the defense.

The storyline is getting old already. Not just Johnson trying to put on a one-man show and constantly failing. But also the team. For the past three years, the soccer world has bestowed preseason praise on the Orangemen, ranking SU in the Top 25 in each of those years.

Then the season starts, and the Orangemen have removed themselves from the nation’s elite.

‘We’ve still got a ton of games left,’ captain Chris Aloisi said. ‘We’re still very confident. This season is far from over.’

But for SU, the next times are running out. Players have been saying ‘next time’ for the past three years. And for this ‘next time,’ Syracuse is facing No. 8 Notre Dame on Thursday.

‘We need these three Big East games,’ Asante said of the three-game homestand, which features Virginia Tech and West Virginia after the Fighting Irish. ‘And we will win them.’

Whoa. Hold up there. A rare slipup for a Syracuse player. A declaration? A proclamation of guaranteed victory? Just what Syracuse needs to wake up and turn its talents into victories.

Wait, I got ahead of myself. The youngster has quickly learned the art of self-deception.

‘We’re very confident,’ Asante quickly added. ‘We’re still very positive. We’re a very good team.’

Wait, there’s hope. Someone’s jumped the wall and finally gotten a glimpse of the outside.

‘Among the players, there’s definitely a sense of urgency,’ midfielder Ryan Hickey said. ‘We’re at the end of the line here almost.’

Finally, a man who has a grip on reality.

Scott Lieber is an assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at smlieber@syr.edu.

Published on September 30, 2003 at 12:00 pm