Dean Foti has seen this pattern before.

The Syracuse men’s soccer team goes undefeated in non-conference play, but finishes at the bottom of the Big East. Non-conference success doesn’t translate into conference wins, and the Orange is relegated to spectators in the postseason.

So when the Orange won the Mayor’s Cup less than two weeks ago and continued its non-conference undefeated streak, Foti knew not to get overly excited about the accomplishment.

‘I’m pleased that our record is where it is but our bread and butter is in the conference, and we’ve started out like this before,’ Foti said after a Sept. 6 win over Florida Gulf Coast. ‘Then we start with the conference games, and that’s where we have to make our mark.’

SU will look to leave its Big East struggles behind when it travels to Marquette and No. 3 Notre Dame to open conference play this weekend. SU faces the Golden Eagles Friday night and then tangles with the Fighting Irish in a Sunday matinee.

The last time Syracuse had a winning Big East campaign was in 1999. The past three seasons, SU has gone 8-23-2 in Big East play, while only qualifying for the tournament in 2005.

Yet, through the hard times, SU has been steady in non-conference play. The Orange hasn’t lost in 19 straight non-conference games, the second-longest streak in the nation behind the defending national champions, Wake Forest (32). After losing to Hartwick in 2005, SU is 11-0-8 in non-conference games since.

Foti said the problem has been injuries. Last season, the team lost then-senior defender James Goodwin after the first seven games, senior Isaac Collings sat out the season with an injury, and senior Pete Rowley missed the first 10 games. In 2006, Collings only played four games, and senior forward Spencer Schomaker missed the first seven games as well.

Losing players of such magnitude would hurt any team, but the Orange did not have the depth needed to deal with the injuries. Without such depth, it became a challenge to keep the early-season momentum.

‘Whenever you lose key players it’s definitely tough because you have to adjust your game,’ said senior goalkeeper Robert Cavicchia. ‘I think with the experience we have now and a lot of seniors and juniors, the maturity level is a lot higher this year, which maybe have been a problem in the past.’

The injuries, combined with the strength of the Big East, created an uphill battle for the Orange the past few seasons. The Big East is regarded as the best soccer conference in the country.

In the NSCAA/Adidas national poll, the Big East has six teams ranked in the top 25, including three teams in the top 10. Syracuse received votes in the latest poll (it also did last year before the start of Big East play).

Syracuse has especially struggled during the start of conference play. In 2007, the Orange started 1-4. That was better than 2006 and 2005, when SU started 0-4 and 0-3-2, respectively.

‘It definitely gets frustrating seeing how well you play leading up into the Big East schedule and then seeing fewer wins and tougher games,’ said junior Kyle Hall. ‘It’s just a matter of keeping the positive attitude. Last year, once you got to the third or fourth loss you were like ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?”

Syracuse believes this can be the year it becomes relevant in the Big East again. Hall and Cavicchia said this is the best team they have played on in their years at Syracuse, with plenty of depth and maturity.

Cavicchia said several times he believes this team is more mature than in the past, which can help it deal with the expected ups-and-downs of the Big East season.

Still, Syracuse knows it must perform in conference play, and Foti is ready to see his team play to its potential.

‘We want to be one of those teams (ranked teams in the Big East) so you got to play em’ and compete with em’, and you got to beat em’,’ Foti said. ‘So that’s where we want to be, so it’s time to step up the plate and take it one game at a time and one opponent at a time.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on September 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm