Ian McIntyre had a painful 6.5 hour bus ride to think about a game Syracuse let slip away.

The SU head coach said he still felt the final result didn’t reflect the way his team played.

‘This is a tough loss,’ McIntyre said. ‘I’m proud of the effort our guys put forth. I feel that we let this one slip away. But we did enough to get something out of this game.’

Syracuse (2-7, 0-2 Big East) fell 2-1 in double overtime on Saturday night, dropping its fifth consecutive game and second Big East game this season. The Orange had another strong defensive performance, holding the Panthers (3-6-1, 1-1) scoreless for the entire first half. SU’s offense, though, struggled to find the back of the net against Pittsburgh goalkeeper Lee Johnston.

Syracuse created plenty of scoring chances, taking 12 shots in regulation. The frustration came from being unable to sneak any of those shots past Johnson, who finished with a total of six saves in the game.

After a sloppy, unaggressive offensive performance against Binghamton last Tuesday, SU took five shots in the first half, with three on goal. The Orange broke through quickly in the second half when junior forward Louis Clark scored Syracuse’s lone goal in the 47th minute of the game.

But that was the only blunder Johnson would make in more than 104 minutes of play.

Five minutes after Clark scored, Pittsburgh freshman Chu Chu Onyeukwu won a battle on a breakaway with SU goalkeeper Phil Boerger to tie the game at 1-1.

Neither team scored again in regulation, forcing the game into overtime. McIntyre said his team failed to take advantage of some of the scoring opportunities it created.

‘We had some chances when it was 1-1 to go on and win the game,’ McIntyre said. ‘But unfortunately we fell a little bit short.’

Both teams took two shots in the first overtime, but none of them translated to goals. About midway through the second overtime, Ryan Brode, brother of SU junior Mark Brode, put a header past Boerger to win the game.

As hard as Syracuse fought for both halves and almost two full overtimes, it still left with a sour taste in its mouth after failing to push harder for another goal. McIntyre said overall, he was happy with the way his defense played, but the two goals the Panthers scored could’ve been avoided.

‘I think at the end of the day, we gave away two soft goals,’ McIntyre said. ‘But we did enough. We created enough chances. … I feel that with the body of work that the guys put in, they deserve something out of the game.’

Syracuse took a total of 14 shots in the game, with four taken by senior Nick Roydhouse. But the midfielder’s chances proved to be futile on a frustrating night for the SU offense.

‘Obviously, we’re disappointed not coming away with any points tonight,’ McIntyre said. ‘We still have a long way to go as a team. But we’re going to learn from tonight, and it was certainly an education for us all.’

Despite the effort he saw from his players, McIntyre’s ride back to Syracuse wasn’t made any easier. All he had to think about was one that got away.

Said McIntyre: ‘As we’re finding out this season, it’s a cruel sport.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on October 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman