Tajon Buchanan tore off his jersey and buried his head as he strolled out of the gate of SU Soccer Stadium. Syracuse looked around in confusion as a red card was issued to the sophomore. Wake Forest laid low. The glory of earlier was sucked from the Orange, when SU took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Hilli Goldhar. The crowd syphoning. The looks to the sky. The jumping. The cheering. Nothing. Just one less guy to share the field with, and still 20 minutes to do what no other team has done this season.

“The clock always gets slow,” head coach Ian McIntyre said. “It feels like time’s moving backwards at times.”

Down a player, Syracuse (5-4-1, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) persevered and held on to win, 2-0, against No. 1 Wake Forest (11-1, 4-1) with help from dominant defensive play the entirety of the game. Through physical challenges, multiple headers won and game-preserving saves, Syracuse earned its first ACC win in 721 days against a team that hadn’t lost a conference game since Sept. 30, 2016.

“I feel safer playing with these guys in front of me than I feel going to sleep at night,” goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert said. “I think we have some of the best defenders in the country.”

Kamal Miller had the game marked in his calendar. He’s not quite sure why SU had always matched up well with WFU. In the three years prior, the Orange had tied the Demon Deacons twice, following a win in the first matchup of Miller’s time. After SU’s win over Akron, it was right in front of the Orange, he said. It started with the defense.

Early in the game, Djimon Johnson battled for position with Wake Forest’s Bruno Lapa. The whistle blew and the referee pointed at Johnson.

“Hey,” the referee yelled, instructing him to back off.

Johnson backpedaled and held his hands out in front of him. But as Wake Forest set to throw the ball in again, Johnson darted back and bumped Lapa, knocking the ball away with his right foot. SU continued to play tough for the remainder of the game. The Orange frequently won position from the Demon Deacons, stopping chances before they started.

In the seventh minute, Wake Forest had a chance right in front of the net after it perfectly led a through ball into the foot of a forward. But before WFU could take a shot, Miller raced from behind, slid and knocked the ball out of bounds, inches away from the right post patrolled by Hilpert. Later in the game, Wake Forest had a similar pass out in front of a player with just Hilpert to beat. Like before, Sondre Norheim wrestled the WFU forward away and stopped the play. On a Demon Deacons’ shot in the 12th minute, Hilpert made perhaps his most athletic save of the season, diving and tipping away a ball placed toward the top right corner of the goal.

At the end of the first half, the Orange had allowed the team who coming into the game led the country with over three goals per game to take just one shot. While the team with the most possession generally is seen as the dominant team, Miller said, Syracuse made its ground with physical wins on 50-50 balls, something the Orange had run into problems with in past ACC games.

“We’re starting to really come together and realize we can shut out any team in the country,” Miller said.

For the entire game, SU’s defense patrolled the box. The chances didn’t come in the first half, but when Wake Forest pushed up in the second half, the Orange didn’t falter. Multiple balls bounced up in the air adjacent to the SU goal off deflections. Syracuse was there each time.

On one play while SU held a one-score lead, the ball was batted up in the air in the middle of SU’s third. Wake Forest players converged on the play, but Norheim hopped up and knocked it out. Miller said SU didn’t even need to drop back when it went to Norheim’s side. They knew he’d win it.

The ball was deflected to Johnson and he boxed out the Wake Forest player, who fell to the ground and dragged Johnson with him, signaling a foul. The crowd exploded. Johnson stood up, looked to the Wake Forest bench, wagged his finger and roared.

“We knew all the way that we’re a good team,” Hilpert said. “Everyone else can sh*t their pants when they come to Syracuse. That’s fine. That’s their problem, not mine.”

Sometimes Hilpert needs to prevent himself from being a fan, he said. In front of him, the talent’s obvious. Miller wasn’t made captain “by accident.” Norheim’s “amazing.” Len Zeugner and Johnson proved they can play with any forwards in the country. It would be easy for him to sit back and do nothing, he said.

After every save, Hilpert caught the ball and fell to the ground on top of it. He laid for a few moments, holding tight as he closed his eyes. There were practical reasons for doing so, he said. SU was down a man. Getting up and kicking the ball immediately would be “dumb.” But he said a part of him wishes it was rugby, and he could just take the ball and run out the clock. He didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to get up. Not until it was over. Not until Syracuse had done it.

Published on October 5, 2018 at 11:43 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary