When Michael Lantry’s header bounced off the bottom of the crossbar late in the game against Virginia on Friday, John-Austin Ricks was there for the rebound — but his point-blank shot sailed high. Both players put their heads in their hands.

Down 2-0 in the game, the Orange had turned up its aggressiveness in the second half to the tune of nine shots attempted to the Cavaliers’ two. One of UVA’s shots found the back of the net. None of SU’s nine got through. Despite putting four shots on goal in the second half alone, two more than Virginia totaled the entire game, Syracuse couldn’t convert. It was shutout for the first time since last October.

The Orange (3-3-1, 0-2 ACC) hasn’t had trouble getting its attempts on target all season, notching at least three shots on goal in each of its seven contests. Its 56 percent shot accuracy leads the country, but among the 10-most accurate teams in the country, SU has the second-fewest goals. Syracuse is getting good looks game after game, but it’s struggling to find positive results from it.

“We’ve had the opportunities,” senior Hugo Delhommelle said after the Virginia game. “We don’t finish them. They had a few chances and scored. That’s soccer. We are dominating the teams, but we are not winning games. That’s our problem.”

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Against Colgate on Monday, it was more of the same. Midway through the second overtime period of the 1-1 draw, Djimon Johnson leaked away from the pack behind him to receive a pass before getting his shot deflected. Tajon Buchanan followed it up from point-blank range but sent it high. He leaned back, arching his back before coming forward into a dejected squat.

Nearly four minutes later, SU-leader in shots on goal Ryan Raposo received a ball from Delhommelle near the right side of the goal. But his shot was off target, too, prompting the freshman to collapse to the ground in disappointment.

The Orange put up 13 total shots, four more than the Raiders, of which five were on goal. But at the end of the night, SU had just one goal to show for it.

“We need to just keep those quality shots,” Raposo said. “(We’ll) find throughout the season that a lot of those are gonna go in the back of the net.”

Raposo and his teammates practice their accuracy primarily through drills like three-on-two situations.

Three attackers take on two backpedaling defenders to simulate a transition opportunity, passing back and forth until a good shot becomes available. Once a shot is taken, the attacking team moves off the field while the two defenders add a player and move to offense. Two new defenders take the field, and the drill starts again. Practicing in live conditions improves the in-game accuracy.

“We’re just trying to create the best chance,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We talk about, as a group, if you can get shots on target, and if you can get shots on target in the penalty area, you’ve got more chance of scoring goals.”

For senior midfielder Jonathan Hagman, shooting accurately is about “finding a good feel.” If it doesn’t come during a practice drill, Hagman will hang around afterward, get a few balls and shoot repeatedly until he finds it.

Raposo is more detail-oriented. The freshman finds his range by setting up 12 balls on the left side of the goal, where he plays as an attacking midfielder. A cone is placed in front of the balls to dribble at, cut by and shoot past. Then he runs back and does it again, mimicking situations that may happen during the game.

During pregame warmups, the offensive group shoots off passes from assistant coach Matt Verni in a mini-competition.

“You don’t wanna be the guy that misses the net,” Raposo said. “It’s all in our head. You’re keeping track of how many goals you have … at the end of the day, you just want to score the most.”

Syracuse has attempted more shots on target than its opponent in five of its seven games this season, but SU’s record in those contests is just 2-3. The Orange’s 42 shots on goal is eight more than the amount it’s allowed, but SU’s still even in goals.

The Orange want more shots, though. Despite outshooting its opponents thus far, SU believes it can do better. Syracuse is currently last in the ACC with 75 total shots, 60 less as conference-leader Wake Forest.

“You have to hit the target to score a goal, so this (accuracy) is a good thing,” Hagman said. “But … if we’re taking five and all of them are on target it’s not good. Coach talks about getting nine shots on target per game, statistically, that’s when you win games, that’s what we’re searching for.”

Published on September 26, 2018 at 9:44 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34