In the eighth minute of Syracuse’s matchup with Cornell, it found the separation that eluded it three days prior against No. 12 Notre Dame. A string of passes and turnovers ended with the ball at Ryan Raposo’s feet.

The freshman darted his eyes towards Cornell’s goalie, Ryan Shellow. The Big Red stalwart was flat-footed and Raposo noticed. Raposo wound his right leg back, sending the ball curling towards the top-right corner, past Shellow’s out-stretched hand.

On a rain-soaked field that temporarily knocked out the scoreboard at Charles F. Berman Field, Raposo’s strike served as a catalyst for the Orange offense. It kick-started a 13-minute stretch that proved the difference in Syracuse’s (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) 2-0 victory over Cornell (3-1) in Ithaca.

“We started the game well,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We’re up 2-0 on the road in the first 12 minutes. That was awesome.”

The early firepower further demonstrated SU’s offensive ability. The Orange played without its point leader, Tajon Buchanan, who suffered a knee injury this past Friday. And it didn’t matter. SU still scored multiple goals. It was the third-straight game it did so. On Monday night, Cornell was its latest victim.

Four minutes after Raposo’s goal, SU kept up the pressure. It extended possessions by creating turnovers in the midfield. In the 12th minute, Hugo Delhommelle, the designated set piece taker, whipped a ball into a thicket of bodies. Grad-transfer Len Zeugner rose and angled his head perpendicular to the ground. His header bounced into the back post, doubling the Orange lead.

After the initial flurry, Syracuse’s offense “took its foot off the gas,” McIntyre said. The Big Red wrestled back control of the match by executing short passes. McIntyre said the rain acted as an “equalizer,” preventing the Orange from controlling possession. Jonathan Hagman, Massimo Ferrin, and Delhommelle rushed at Cornell forwards, taking away vertical passing options.

Yet the home team generated scoring chances and took advantage of poor positioning by SU’s backline. In the 21st minute, Kamal Miller was left on an island and chased a striker down the right side of the Orange defense. The scrum led to a free kick just outside the penalty area. It gave Cornell a set piece, something Syracuse failed to handle in its most recent loss against Notre Dame.

The initial shot was deflected, but Caleb McAuslan was left alone in the box and had a point-blank attempt at SU goalie Hendrik Hilpert. McAuslan’s shot flew wide, drawing a gasp from the Cornell faithful.

“We lacked a little bit of quality in the second half,” McIntyre said. “We were absorbing a lot of pressure. They were throwing everything at us, they had nothing to lose.”

SU spent the remainder of the match on its heels, dealing with eight Cornell shots and more scoring opportunities. Yet the shutout was maintained. A doorstep shot was cleared away by a Syracuse defender. Hilpert was late on a clearance, gifting Cornell a scoring chance. The Big Red pushed a ball over the line in the 55th minute, but it was disallowed due to an offsides call.

After the game, Syracuse dried off and celebrated with music on the team bus. The first shutout of the year wasn’t the easiest, but it got SU above .500 ahead of its matchup against Clemson on Friday night.

“The guys realized the challenge here,” McIntyre said. “It was a combative, physical game. We found a way.”

Published on September 10, 2018 at 9:59 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez