For the first time in program history, Syracuse has not allowed a goal through four games.

Chris Nanco continues to terrorize defenders, Alex Bono continues to be a brick wall in goal and head coach Ian McIntyre’s 3-5-2 formation continues to work to a tee.

Nanco’s seventh-minute goal put the Orange ahead early before St. John’s got a handful of chances inside SU’s 18-yard box in the second half. But Bono and the Syracuse defense remained perfect as Syracuse (4-0) beat the Red Storm (0-3-1) by a 1-0 score at Belson Stadium in Queens, New York.

“Probably should’ve got a second, that would’ve been the all-important goal,” McIntyre said. “But St. John’s are a very strong team and especially at home.

“We managed to grit it out, put our body on the line when necessary and fortunately held on at the end of the game.”

At the 38:04 mark of the first half, Emil Ekblom chested down a bouncing ball in the defensive half and kicked it out in front of Nanco and Red Storm defender Simon Tchoukriel, who was five yards ahead of the SU forward.

But Nanco turned on the jets and as Tchoukriel went for a slide tackle just outside the box, Nanco toed the ball ahead and slotted it into the bottom right corner past goalie Jordan Stagmiller.

“It’s was a mistake from St. John’s that he capitalized on,” McIntyre said. “He has that breakaway speed. He finished it off very well and it was an excellent start.”

As the Orange has done all season, it pushed numbers forward in transition and knocked on the door, threatening to extend the lead.

And although SU was unable to convert on the offensive end for the rest of the game, its defense of Jordan Murrell, Louis Cross and Skylar Thomas was steadfast despite several Red Storm chances.

Ten minutes into the second half, Syracuse scrambled to clear a ball on the edge of the 6-yard box. Less than a minute later, St. John’s saw a header sail just outside the left post. Twelve minutes after that, Syracuse made a goal-saving slide tackle before Bono just got a palm on a cross destined for a St. John’s head.

It was the hardest Bono and the back three has had to work all season and although the goalie was only credited with two saves, he repeatedly came off his line to spell danger.

“He’s very good,” McIntyre said of Bono. “He dominated his box, came for crosses, was a calming influence back there. We’ve got one of the best in this division in our net and when called upon, he’s always capable of stepping up.”

As time ticked down from the six-minute mark, Julian Buescher and Nick Perea continuously took the ball to the corner flags to waste time and shield off multiple defenders — and were mostly successful in doing so.

When the Red Storm finally earned a goal kick, there were only two minutes left and the hosts were unable to muster a serious threat before SU won another in the game’s waning moments.

The Orange remained unblemished in the loss column and in the goals against category, and will welcome defending national champion and No. 5 Notre Dame to Syracuse next Saturday.

Said McIntyre: “We fully realize that we need a good week of practice, but we’re looking forward to that challenge next Saturday.”

Published on September 7, 2014 at 12:25 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman