Against Akron nearly two weeks ago, it was Jonathan Hagman. The Swedish midfielder scored all three of Syracuse’s goals in its 3-0 victory over the Zips, breaking SU’s three-game winless streak. On Monday against Ohio State, Massimo Ferrin had two goals and an assist and Ryan Raposo had one of each en route to the Orange’s third-straight win.

On Friday, Tajon Buchanan was the man for Syracuse. The sophomore scored a pair of goals to help the No. 24 Orange (6-4-2, 1-3-1 Atlantic Coast) tie No. 11 Louisville (7-2-3, 3-1-2), on the road on Friday, 2-2. The goals give Buchanan a team-leading total of five on the season, also pushing him past Ryan Raposo for the team lead in points (14). While the tie snaps SU’s three-game winning streak, it serves as the fourth straight game that the Orange have scored two goals or more. After starting the season 3-4-1, Syracuse is 3-0-1 in its last four games.

“Big picture, this is a good point on the road against a very good team,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “(It) allows us to continue this good run of form.”

Buchanan’s performance is the latest in a string of multi-point performances for Syracuse, which has been divvying up it’s scoring between its front line. The Brampton, Ontario native tallied eight points through his first three games this year but had been scoreless since, before scoring the pair of goals against Louisville.

“We’re not relying on one superstar, we’re spreading it out,” Hagman said earlier this week. “I think that’s really important and good for the team’s confidence. I think it’s sent a signal to guys who haven’t scored that ‘if they can, I can.’”

Buchanan opened the scoring with a goal that found the bottom right corner of the net 16 minutes into the game. Four minutes later a service by Buchanan reached Ferrin near the back post, but Ferrin’s shot was just high, innocently sailing over the crossbar.

Syracuse kept attacking through Buchanan, and nearly 13 minutes later he found himself with another scoring opportunity. Defender Kamal Miller got in on the action, finding a streaking Buchanan through two Cardinals defenders. He managed to slip by them, eventually sneaking the ball underneath the Louisville goalkeeper to put the Orange up 2-0 and give Miller his first point of the year.

“He took his two chances very well with some clinical finishes,” McIntyre said. “He really caused them some problems with his directness and his athleticism. We hope that he continues to have a strong second half to the season, and we’re gonna need goals.”

The SU shutout was short-lived, however, as the Cardinals managed to get on the board with just three minutes left in the half. A corner kick by Ziyad Fekri was on target, reaching Tate Schmitt by the far right post. Schmitt headed the ball just inside the post for his third goal of the year, cutting Syracuse’s lead in half.

Louisville came out of the halftime break attacking more than before, attempting the same amount of shots (four) in the first 20 minutes of the second half as it did the entirety of the first. Its aggressiveness ultimately led to a scrum in the box that resulted in a Simon Triantafillou handball. Scottish midfielder Adam Wilson lined up the penalty kick for the Cardinals and converted with ease. SU goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert dove to his left but Wilson kicked it to Hilpert’s right. The shot glanced off the goalie’s shoe before hitting the back of the net, and the game was tied at two.

“Goals change matches, and the momentum swung when they scored that first one,” McIntyre said. “Credit to Louisville, they started the second half incredibly well and had us on the backfoot.”

While Louisville forced Hilpert to make two acrobatic saves the remainder of the half, the Orange rarely threatened to score. The game entered overtime at 2-2 and was stuck there through seven and a half minutes when Hagman nearly ended it.

Ferrin dribbled through two defenders on the right side of the field before sending a cross into the box for Hagman, who corralled and shot in one motion only to have his attempt ricochet off the left post. Two minutes later the Cardinals nearly scored a last-second goal off a corner kick, but the ball was deflected and the game entered its second extra period.

Neither goalies were tested in the second overtime and the game ended without any goals in the final 54 minutes of the contest. While McIntyre felt “disappointed” not to get the full three points in conference, he was pleased with his team’s effort in Louisville.

“You hope you manage the game and win the game,” he said, “but to come here and get a point on the road in these games, against a top-15 team, this is a good point. We’ll take positives from this.”

Published on October 12, 2018 at 10:53 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34