Syracuse men’s soccer player Ryan Hall started his first game as a defender since last year’s season opener against Boston College and made a lasting impression — on offense.

With 27:42 left in the first half of last night’s game against Hartwick, SU forward Guido Cristofori was taken down while trying to dribble past the defense. On the ensuing direct kick, midfielder Ari Schneider fed Hall. Without hesitation, Hall powered the ball with his left foot into the left side of the net, past Hartwick’s diving goalkeeper, Randall Moate.

Hall’s tally was the Orangemen’s first in its 3-1 victory over the Hawks at Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

‘I worked in warm-ups for about 10 minutes on just striking the ball low and hard,’ Hall said. ‘I’m just lucky that I hit it perfectly and it bent right around the goalie into the corner.’

The irony of Hall scoring his first goal of the year while playing in the backfield was not lost on him or his teammates.

‘I’m shocked,’ Hall said. ‘Luckily the goalie was just a step too slow.’

‘That was a great shot,’ Syracuse forward Jarett Park said. ‘After that, he was even more fired up and was playing even better.’

Hall played considerably better, shifting his attention almost exclusively to defense. Hartwick had no offensive pressure in the first half, a result of Hall combining with fellow defenders Chris Aloisi and Mike McCallion to consistently stop attackers Neil McLean and Greg Victor.

Though the Hawks played aggressively in the second half, a majority of their 13 shots were slow and weak, right into the hands of SU goalkeeper Alim Karim.

‘We had a lot of territory possession in the second half, and the (Syracuse) back line did a good job protecting their goal,’ Hartwick coach Jim Lennox said. ‘That was the key to the game.’

‘Hall was marking up their big-time striker (McLean),’ Aloisi said. ‘He kept the ball in front of him really well, and that’s what’s important.’

And the SU defense never wilted. The only Hartwick goal came on a free kick, after Karim was called for a ball-handling violation.

The Orangemen’s usual starting defender, Eric Chapman, sat out Wednesday’s game with headaches as a result of what Syracuse coach Dean Foti called “a mild concussion,” sustained after clashing heads against Seton Hall on Saturday. Hall hadn’t started at defense for 24 consecutive games.

‘I don’t think I had been this nervous since my freshman year,’ Hall said. ‘The game I started (at defense) last year, I got smoked for two goals, so I wasn’t too happy about playing back here.’

‘I wasn’t really worried about him playing defense,’ Park said. ‘I knew he’d play the same way he does on the outside. It doesn’t really matter where he plays because he always plays hard.’

Despite Hall’s history of poor defensive outings, he earned the respect of his teammates and coaches. And with Chapman still day-to-day, Hall could see some time in the backfield this weekend.

‘This is one of the best games he’s played this season,’ Foti said. ‘We asked him to play a different position, and he stepped up to the plate big time.’

Published on September 25, 2002 at 12:00 pm