Last season, Syracuse’s season opener did some foreshadowing. A goal by Hugo Delhommelle in the 94:39 mark in overtime gave the Orange the narrow victory against St. Louis — a .500 team in the Atlantic 10. Season openers before were much different: A 3-0 win over Massachusetts the year prior and a 4-1 win over UC Riverside in 2015. SU hadn’t lost a season opener since 2011, and most have been won with relative ease.

It began with a game-saving goal in overtime. It ended with no ACC wins. A loss in the first round of the ACC Tournament. No chance at a NCAA Tournament berth a year after spending parts of 2016 as the top team in the country.

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Friday, the 2018 edition gave SU an opportunity to breathe. In a 2-1 win over Oregon State, the Orange showed a promising sign of growth — it earned each of its goals from first-year SU players and production from its top guns of the year past.

SU got off to a quick start in the game. At the 4:46 mark, Gardner-Webb transfer Severin Soerlie (who was playing his first career regular season game for the Orange) provided the first punch. The native of Filtvet, Norway scored and assisted against Canisius and joins the Orange after tallying 29 points for the Bulldogs to lead the team in his redshirt sophomore year.

The assister, Tajon Buchanan, was SU’s shots on goal leader in 2017 and enters the new season as one of SU’s most promising offensive options.

Syracuse held onto its lead until the 68:18 mark, when a penalty kick goal from Don Tchilao equalized the game near the midpoint of the second half. But SU answered back soon after by way of another newcomer, freshman Ryan Raposo, who scored his first goal of his SU career after recording a preseason winner with 1:03 remaining against Villanova. Once again, it came in a game-deciding moment.

Raposo put two shots on goal in the game, tying Buchanan for the team lead. Defender Len Zeugner and Soerlie also put shots on goal.

Starting goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert, who began his final campaign for SU on Friday, recorded five saves and collected his first win of 2018. While many of SU’s key returners showed their presence, the new faces dominated the game. Last year’s season opener broke a seven-year streak of a season-opening win resulting in a winning campaign — SU’s last losing season, again, came in 2011.

In the preview, Syracuse’s newcomers showed a change in direction.

Published on August 24, 2018 at 11:26 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary