A simple fake to his right was all Alex Halis needed to make Duke midfielder Nick Palodichuk look silly.

The sophomore forward then proceeded to do the same to three other Blue Devil defenders, threading a through ball into the box with the outside of his right foot to a streaking Nick Perea.

Perea was unable to finish, but the setup was indicative of Halis’ ability to create opportunities in the attacking third.

“He’s a spark whether he starts or whether he comes off the bench,” forward Chris Nanco said.

Halis made only his second start of the year on Sunday, and he was just that — a spark. Aside from scoring the game-winning goal in the 10th minute, Halis wreaked havoc on the Blue Devils’ back line in the Orange’s 2-0 win that sent it to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament against Louisville on Friday. He led the Orange (15-2-1, 5-2-1 ACC) in shots on goal and showed that he has the quality to be included in the starting lineup, as he was in 17-of-18 games last season.

“No one wants to be a bench player,” Halis said.

At times this year, the sophomore has experienced frustration, whether it be with nagging injuries, goal-scoring droughts or starting the game on the bench.

In away wins at Binghamton and Connecticut, he was the last one over to the team’s postgame huddle, one time having to be consoled by SU head coach Ian McIntrye and the other by midfielder Juuso Pasanen.

But then there’s the other side of him.

After scoring the game-winner against Albany on Oct. 7, Halis threw his hands up in delight with an ear-to-ear grin and was mobbed by the SU bench. A hug with a field-side fan and another cluster of teammates surrounding him followed his goal against Duke.

Now the frustration seems in the past.

“Goals change games but they also change confidence in players,” McIntyre said.

Halis said that his performance on Sunday was one of his strongest of the year. Now, he’ll get the chance to follow it up against Louisville, a team he was sent off against on Oct. 17 after receiving a second yellow card.

He has one postseason goal already under his belt, and gaining momentum at the right time is something Halis said he’s “grateful” for.

“I’ve known him for so long and sometimes even if I’m defending him, I don’t know what he’s going to do,” Nanco said of when Halis gets on a roll. “It’s really hard to stop him.”

Nanco added that his longtime teammate deserved to start the Orange’s postseason opener. McIntyre admitted that Halis’ Sunday performance “certainly” forces him to consider giving the sophomore his first back-to-back starts of the season.

Halis himself won’t say explicitly whether he thinks he deserves to start, but to him, it doesn’t matter as long as he’s producing.

Said Halis: “I don’t really see myself as a bench player, but if that’s how it’s supposed to be, if that’s how I can help the team then that’s fine with me.”

Published on November 11, 2014 at 12:07 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman