Kamal Miller wiped his face with his jersey as the time wound down in the first half. Sondre Norheim held the ball in his hand on the sideline and listened to “seven, six, five, four…” from the PA announcer before lightly tossing the ball over the head of the nearest Colgate player. He and the Orange turned and headed off the field in a light jog.

Syracuse (3-3-1, 0-2-0 Atlantic Coast) was the aggressor all game long. In the first half, as head coach Ian McIntyre said about its last game and the loss before, the Orange played like the better team. But in a 1-1 tie with Colgate (4-1-4, 0-0-1 Patriot) it was left with nothing to show. A 70th-minute header from the Raiders provided the opening blow, and in a game that the Orange looked a step ahead, they found themselves playing from behind.

“I thought this was a game that we could have won,” McIntyre said. “This was a game we could have lost as well.”

Since 2012, in winning and in losing seasons, the Orange have had their way with nonconference opponents. In 2017, there were six wins. In 2016, there were seven. Then seven more. Then nine. Then seven. Then seven again. No matter the fate of the Orange at the end of the season, the organizing piece behind each SU team was its ability to win outside of the ACC.

Prior to each game, Miller said SU maps out its opponent on paper. It examines its mismatches and identifies where it could attack. When it came time to examine the Raiders, Syracuse often gave itself the advantage. For almost every single position on the field, the Orange felt it outmatched Colgate, Miller said.

Monday, Syracuse’s feet were soft. Each Colgate dribble elicited a thump. Its headers were aimless when Syracuse’s were targeted. The Raiders’ offensive players most effective tool was the pass. Syracuse took it themselves. The Raiders wouldn’t break down SU with the ball, Miller said. Syracuse would just have to match its aggression.

“Once you match that fight, you know quality would come up,” Miller said.

When Hilli Goldhar got “kicked” Monday — or if any SU player was forced to the ground by a Colgate defender — a penalty was called. “Payback,” a member of the crowd shouted as Goldhar muscled a Colgate player to the wall behind the SU goal. Moment’s earlier, he was forced into the wall by a Raiders defender. This time, his retaliation was a success.

In the 39th minute, Michael Lantry whiffed on a clear that awarded the Raiders a corner kick. But, the kick was shanked right to the head of Severin Soerlie, who stood away from the pile of Colgate players that hawked as the ball neared.

Syracuse had chances. Buchanan had a header attempt in front of the net in the 43rd minute. In the 64th minute, Lantry fired a cross leading Hagman perfectly into a right-footed strike which fired wide.

But Syracuse failed to leave itself room for error. Weak Syracuse passes started to get intercepted. Lantry shook his head after a Hilpert pass sailed over his head late in the game. Minutes later, Hilpert was challenged on a header once and then the second time was out of his reach. 

Though Syracuse came back with a goal just more than eight minutes later, a header strike from Sondre Norheim, the damage was already done. In situations the Orange often finish handily, the Patriot League, unranked, Raiders exposed the Orange for its failure to capitalize.

“It’s a tough game,” Buchanan said.

SU’s fluidity started to fade. In the sixth minute of overtime, Norheim — already having scored SU’s equalizer — streaked down the sideline and Hugo Delhommelle led him with his pass. He whiffed and the ball trickled out of bounded. He turned, stomped and yelled.

In the 105th minute, Djimon Johnson received a ball over his head near the right Colgate goalpost. He attempted a shot but lost his footing. His next attempt was blocked. Buchanan received the rebound ready to put it home. But his shot, once again, fired high and wide.

Syracuse’s next shot, strike from Ryan Raposo, fired wide again. Each shot inched closer, but never close enough. When asked about Syracuse’s missed opportunities, McIntyre smirked.

“I’m a positive guy, you know,” he quipped.

Syracuse players walked lifelessly off the field as the final overtime buzzer sounded. They just nearly escaped a scare. But the real fear comes in the weeks ahead. SU plays six conference games in its last nine. Historically, this game has always been a placeholder. And SU still couldn’t capitalize. It was only a matter of time before the missed opportunities provided its opponent a chance.

“We’ll settle for the point, but we were always pushing for the three points,” Miller said. “We thought we could have had it late there in OT. But that’s the way it goes.”

After the Orange’s corner fired high in the 68th minute, the Raiders took the ensuing play in stride.  SU’s keep away was sloppy and out of bounds. Colgate’s feet were soft and quick. The Orange, unlike earlier, were slow and flat. The Raiders took one opportunity, and the next came smoothly on the rebound. Colgate finished. The pressure — even for a moment — was too much. After a game-long struggle to exploit superior talent and play, it only took one moment to flip the script.

Published on September 24, 2018 at 9:40 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary