When opportunity knocks, the Syracuse men’s soccer team always seems to be sleeping.

Though Syracuse tied No. 3 St. John’s in double overtime, 1-1, Saturday night at Syracuse Soccer Stadium, missed opportunities again haunted SU. The Orangemen outshot St. John’s 20-11 — the first time SJU has been outshot all season — and allowed just three shots after halftime.

‘It’s definitely heartbreaking to see this one get away,’ Syracuse defender Ryan Hall said. ‘Under the circumstances of the game, you know you’re just taking it to them, and you’re pounding them. In some ways, you feel the game is unfinished.’

‘Yeah, it is (a disappointment),’ Syracuse captain Chris Aloisi said. ‘After the game, a couple of guys were saying it was a little bit of a loss. After you dominate a team, you want the result, you want the victory.’

The Orangemen (7-5-2, 3-3-1 Big East) again dug an early hole after the Red Storm (10-1-3, 6-1-1) scored 1:57 into the game, on Andre Schmid’s fifth goal of the season. But Syracuse slowly started to shift the game in its favor. By the start of the second half, St. John’s could hardly get the ball past midfield.

‘In the second half, I can’t remember a string of plays where we weren’t the ones dominating and controlling the ball,’ Syracuse forward Jarett Park said. ‘I’ve never been as happy as I was with all the guys.’

Park tied for the SU lead with six shots, a number of which bounced off the crossbar or barely out of bounds.

But he showcased his athletic ability when he scored with 6:06 left. On a pass across the middle from forward Guido Cristofori, Park slid on the soggy grass but was still able to power the ball past SJU goalie Bill Gaudette in the lower left corner.

‘We built ourselves up to getting that goal,’ Cristofori said. ‘After that, it was just constant pressure, constant pounding, getting into their end and making chances.’

When regulation ended, the Orangemen offense didn’t. After tying the game, SU continued to get off shots, each one causing the crowd of 1,066 to rise to its feet in hopes of an upset.

Syracuse’s best chance came with less than six minutes left in the first overtime. SU midfielder Ilias Calaitzidis broke away from the St. John’s defense and was one-on-one with Gaudette. The Red Storm goalie made a diving save, but it left him out of position when the rebound went to Cristofori, who was within 10 feet of the net.

The game appeared over when the ball left Cristofori’s foot, but SJU midfielder Patrick Lonergan ran back to deflect the ball out of bounds and preserve the Red Storm’s 13-game unbeaten streak.

‘I was just backing out wide because Ilias was going to shoot the ball, and I don’t think he got the shot off that he wanted to,’ Cristofori said. ‘The ball just rolled out in front of me. When you’re that close to the goal, it’s just like passing it in. (Lonergan) just made a great recovery on defense.’

When the game ended, St. John’s appeared fatigued and alleviated.

‘We can gain confidence from this,’ Syracuse head coach Dean Foti said. ‘We competed with a very good team and played at a high level, something which has fluctuated at different times during the season.’

‘I know a lot of the guys were happy that we came out and played the way we did,’ Park said. ‘A tie just makes you sick sometimes because you’re that much closer to a win.’

Published on October 20, 2002 at 12:00 pm