Few of Syracuse’s losses have been because of a poor performance by Phil Boerger. The senior goalkeeper has made a habit of putting the Orange on his back and putting it in position to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

Those chances have not yielded many positive results. But despite his efforts routinely being wasted, Boerger still won’t express frustration at Syracuse’s stagnant offense.

‘If we could cut out some chances and stay a little more focused, we could do better in that respect defensively,’ Boerger said. ‘Offensively, we’re creating some chances, it’s just it’s a lot of half chances and it’s not an all-out chance. … We are doing well offensively, it’s just that little last piece.’

Almost all of the pieces of the Orange’s defense — led by Boerger — have been present all season long, providing the team an anchor and backbone. While the offense has struggled to find consistency, the defense has thrived. In the middle of Syracuse’s (2-8-1, 0-3-1 Big East) toughest stretch of the season, where it’s playing three top-25 teams in a row, Boerger and the back four are being relied on more than ever.

With that comes a greater emphasis on communication among the defenders, which is something that’s still developing. That’ll continue on Saturday against No. 11 South Florida (8-2-2, 3-0-1) at 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium. The Bulls feature a potent offense that includes a powerful scoring threat in forward Dom Dwyer, who has 11 goals on the year.

SU’s defense is a unit that hasn’t allowed Syracuse to lose any of its games by more than one goal. But in several losses, the Orange didn’t allow the other team’s game-winning goal until the final minutes of the game.

Keeping focused for all 90 minutes has been a constant struggle for the freshmen-laden defense all year.

‘It’s tough. Every game I think we’ve lost by one goal,’ Boerger said. ‘Against Marquette for example, we gave up three goals, that’s not good enough. If we could cut out some chances and stay a little more focused, we could do better in that respect defensively.’

The chemistry isn’t necessarily lacking. Still, the youth and inexperience has at times led to some of those defensive breakdowns late in games and what head coach Ian McIntyre has called ‘soft goals.’

‘It’s how comfortable you are playing with each other,’ freshman defender Jordan Murrell said. ‘And we’re all pretty comfortable because we’ve all been training with each other for such a long time. We work together and we help each other out.’

The defense has not really needed a boost of confidence, but if it ever did, putting up a clean sheet against Louisville provided that boost. Ranked No. 11 in the country at the time, the Cardinals were the strongest Big East team SU had faced up to that point. For two halves and two overtimes, the Syracuse defense kept Louisville out of the goal.

110 minutes. 31 shots. Not a single goal given up.

‘It boosts confidence. We know that we can hold out with one of the best teams in the country, so we can hold out with everyone else,’ Murrell said. ‘We just need to keep working at it and continue to play well.’

As well as the defense has played, though, only two wins have come of it. So last week, Boerger said McIntyre pulled the defense aside during practice and gave the unit a simple message: ‘I’ve got your back.’

Boerger said if anything, it showed him that his head coach knows the frustration the defense could be feeling, and taking the extra step to improve — mainly avoiding late collapses — could prove pivotal toward the latter stages of the season.

That extra step is communication on the field. It’s each defender knowing what the other is going to do before they do it. If one of the defenders misses their mark, it’s up to the next one to pick him up. And if they get beat, that’s when Boerger needs to make a save.

It’s simple in theory, but takes time to execute. And so far, while the defense has been a consistent force all season, that final step hasn’t quite been perfected.

But it might not be too far off.

‘In reality, when you look at the length of a college soccer season, it’s not very long,’ Boerger said. ‘We’ve only been together since August.’

‘I think we’re starting to jell at the right time.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on October 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman