Jeremy Vuolo wavered for a split second. One tiny instance of uncertainty, and it cost him. He couldn’t beat South Florida’s Hasani Sinclair to the ball.

‘I hesitated for a second,’ Vuolo said. ‘We were both sprinting toward the ball, and he got a touch right before I got there. So I just couldn’t really stop, and there was a collision.’

Just like the old cliché: He who hesitates is lost. And Vuolo was lost. He still is. Literally.

Syracuse’s 6-foot-3, 200-pound goalkeeper received a red card and a one-game suspension for his collision with Sinclair, and the Bulls were awarded a penalty kick. Vuolo was replaced by sophomore Ryan Jones, but Sinclair buried his shot.

Beginning with that penalty in the 78th minute, the Orange allowed USF to score three times in a span of 7:18. In a heartbeat, the game ballooned into an ugly 4-0 loss.

That horrific span of 7:18 is only a part of what Syracuse (1-5-3, 0-1-1 Big East) must overcome when it steps back onto the field Wednesday night at home against Colgate (5-1-3). The Orange will also be without its captain, Vuolo, who must serve his suspension for the red card.

Though South Florida was SU’s toughest test of the season, that role is now played by Colgate. The Raiders are the first ranked team the Orange will play this season, after Colgate assumed the No. 24 national ranking earlier this week. Syracuse needs an improved performance in its last non-conference game to set the tone for the remainder of its Big East schedule.

‘Coming off a 4-0 loss, it’s given a lot of outside people the perception that we might not be that good,’ SU midfielder Nick Roydhouse said. ‘But as a team, we know we are a lot better. It would be nice to prove to ourselves that we can come out with a win and play well.’

If the Orange does get a win, it will be with Jones as its goalkeeper. Jones, who started all of last season under former head coach Dean Foti, has seen action in just three games so far in 2010.

With Vuolo’s ejection, Jones entered Saturday’s game without the ability to warm up. And facing a penalty kick right off the bat was not the easiest way to enter his first Big East game in nearly a year.

‘It was definitely tough going out there to play just the last 15 minutes after being on the bench for the whole game,’ Jones said. ‘I just feel that maybe if I got a little bit more of a warm-up in, then I could have done something about them.’

Come Wednesday, he will have plenty of time to warm up and prepare to fill the big shoes left by Vuolo, the Big East’s leader in saves. And in addition to being one of the conference’s top goalkeepers, Vuolo is also a vocal leader for the Orange.

All game long, he can be heard barking words of encouragement to his teammates and communicating with his defenders.

Wednesday shouldn’t be too different, though, Vuolo said, because he thinks a number of players could assume his position of leadership, including Roydhouse.

‘There’s different ways of being a leader,’ Vuolo said. ‘I always urge the guys to have 11 captains out there on the field. In terms of vocal leadership, (Roydhouse) is going to step up a bit. That’s his mentality. He probably won’t shut up for the 90 minutes.’

Jones said he, too, will be vocal when the situation calls for it, and that he has a little bit of something to prove after getting scored on three times against USF. After being the starter last season but taking a backseat to Vuolo in 2010, any chance he has to get on the field is a chance to show something to McIntyre and the coaching staff.

‘I’m going to put the South Florida game behind me, because there wasn’t much I could do about the whole situation,’ Jones said. ‘I’m going to go out there and prove myself and show everyone that I can still play.’

With that grit and determination, Jones will try to guide the Orange to its first win in 26 days Wednesday night. Although Vuolo returns in time for Saturday’s Big East matchup against DePaul, a win behind Jones would be a huge morale boost for the team.

The players and coaches remain positive as of now, but a seventh-straight game without a win could belittle them at a crucial point in the season.

‘It would just be a nice relief, almost, to get that win and be able to go on from and build some momentum results-wise,’ Roydhouse said. ‘You can be playing good every single game, but if you don’t win, then there’s just no point.’

Mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13