Jonathan Hagman peered back toward the goal and cracked a smile. A few of his teammates trailed by his side as he locked his eyes on Severin Soerlie. Seconds earlier, the junior transfer received a pass from Massimo Ferrin on the right flank. As he trudged forward, Akron’s Marco Milanese got his legs tangled and fell to the ground, freeing Soerlie. He pushed forward, almost knocked the ball out of bounds behind the net and made a diving try towards the goal.

Like was the case for every one of SU’s tries on goal, Zips goalkeeper Ben Lundt knocked it away from the net. But Hagman was always there to clean it up.

“Good players always follow up,” McIntyre said.

Syracuse (4-4-1, 0-3-0 Atlantic Coast), led by a hat-trick performance from Hagman (the first SU player to record a three-plus goal performance since Ben Polk in 2015), dominated Akron (4-4-1, 0-0-0 Mid-American), 3-1. SU matched its goal total from its past four games combined as it finally broke free of its offensive futility. Despite being outshot 20-10, the Orange made use of the chances it got on Monday in Akron.

“This is a very tough place to play. To come away with a win is fantastic for the guys. Makes that long bus ride home so much easier,” McIntyre said. “This is a huge result in a tough environment.”

The win provides the Orange a tangible result after three-straight winless games. In a tie to Colgate and double overtime loss to Virginia Tech — when the Orange allowed the game-winning goal in the 108th minute — the Orange, despite showing some offensive flashes, failed to convert on their chances. Scoring was few and far between for SU over the last three-game stretch.

McIntyre said that the Orange pushed Hagman forward before the game and went with a setup that gave him more of an offensive influence. The Orange opted to keep freshman and frequent starter Ryan Raposo, who’s “a little bit nicked up,” McIntyre said, on the bench to start the game, though McIntyre said it didn’t play a role in Hagman’s realignment.

“He’s had kind of a little bit of a defensive disciple for us the past couple of game,” McIntyre said of Hagman, “and that kind of freed him up.”

But Monday was a stat-padding night for the Orange. Hagman’s three goals catapult him to second on SU in points. Tajon Buchanan, whose two assists are the result of two deflected shots put in by Hagman, added two points to take sole leadership of the top spot on the team. Soerlie, who has been out of the starting lineup as of late, had an assist on a deflection as well.

Buchanan’s first shot provided more of a challenge. The sophomore fired a right-footed shot straight at Lundt. Lundt dove to the ground, stopping the shot, but the ball trickled out to his side and Hagman, still in pursuit of his first goal of the season, slid into the box and easily knocked the ball into the back of the net.

On the second goal, a challenge inside off a corner gave Buchanan a header shot with just Lundt to beat. Lundt stopped Buchanan’s chance, but he had more to handle as the ball deflected back out to Hagman. The senior wound up and knocked a dribbler into the right corner of the net. Lundt, overmatched, slammed his hands on the grass.

Another goal off a deflection from Hagman, this one coming first off Soerlie’s feet, and suddenly the Orange were firmly in the lead of the game with 24:52 remaining. The Zips would score a goal in the 85th minute to trim the lead. The Orange slowed for a play and Akron player quickly grabbed the ball from the back of the net, running it quickly to the middle of the field to hopefully salvage the game.

But the Orange were too much. As the clock wound down on their first win in 21 days, players couldn’t help but smile. After Hagman’s last goal, a similar look of relief painted SU. Soerlie hopped on his back and held tight by his shoulders as Hagman stood by the left corner, taking in the goal.

“He gave us a spark tonight,” McIntyre said.

Published on October 1, 2018 at 10:20 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary