Phil Wheddon wasn’t impressed that his team accomplished two separate feats this weekend for the first time in more than a decade.

Instead, Syracuse winning three straight Big East games for the first time in more than a decade brought embarrassment to mind for the SU head coach.

‘Rather embarrassing,’ Wheddon said of the accomplishments. ‘To say that this program hasn’t won three straight games or won four games in the Big East is kind of embarrassing.’

It was numerous firsts for the Orange this week. It’s the first time since 1999 the team has won three conference games in a row. Syracuse (5-4-3, 4-2 Big East) also has four conference victories for the first time since 2001. SU also netted six goals over the weekend against Big East opponents, a first in the four years with Wheddon at the helm. Right now, Syracuse is in the thick of things in the Big East. The top five teams from each division in the conference earn a berth to postseason play.

The Orange sits tied for third place with St. John’s in the American division standings with 12 points. And SU can continue to ascend up the standings with games at Pittsburgh and West Virginia on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

For the fourth-year head coach, this is what he’s been waiting for since he arrived in Syracuse.

‘If you look at some of the other programs in the Big East, they’re used to winning nine, 10 games, and that’s where we need to be,’ Wheddon said. ‘And that’s where we need to be, to be at the level I expect this program to be at and this athletic department wants this program to be at.’

Wheddon stressed Syracuse hasn’t accomplished anything yet. The head coach is focused on leading the Orange to a Big East tournament berth at the end of the season.

But Syracuse did achieve the most goals over a weekend in Big East play since Wheddon took over. The offensive production has impressed him.

The Orange scored four goals in a win over Seton Hall and two in defeating Rutgers last weekend. It’s the most the team has had in a Big East weekend since 2001, when SU coincidentally scored four against Seton Hall and two against Rutgers.

For Wheddon, the offense is clicking on all cylinders.

‘I thought we were dynamic in the attack, especially Friday night,’ Wheddon said. ‘We had multiple opportunities to score. We have four different people score goals. You know any coach would be happy with that.’

Sophomore Cecilia Borgstrom admits frustration grew at times early this season when Syracuse had open shots but was hitting the crossbar or missing wide. Although frustrated, Borgstrom said the team was never concerned. The Orange knew the goals would eventually start piling up.

‘We knew we could do it, so we haven’t been that worried,’ Borgstrom said.

Rather than being worried, the Orange continued working on the deficiencies that hurt the team earlier in the season.

Casey Ramirez, who had one of those goals over the weekend, said SU kept working hard to overcome its struggles.

Whether shooting during the early morning sessions or between matches, hitting the target has been a point of emphasis. But unlike previous weeks, in which Syracuse had the chances but didn’t capitalize, Ramirez saw practice translate in the team’s games.

And with Syracuse scoring goals in bunches last weekend, Ramirez doesn’t see the team becoming complacent. On the contrary, she thinks it will make the Orange hungrier.

‘I think it just raises the bar for all of us,’ Ramirez said.

That’s exactly what Wheddon wants to hear. Syracuse can’t rest on its laurels just yet. It doesn’t matter what his team accomplished this past weekend. It’s about the work that lies ahead.

‘There’s going to be no pat on the back or anything for not making the Big East tournament,’ Wheddon said. ‘We’ve got to focus on what we’re doing.’

And that’s a message his team has received crystal clear. While the Orange is flying at levels it hasn’t in a very long time, it remains grounded.

Borgstrom said although it was big for the program to reach a milestone, with five games left to the season, SU still needs to come away with victories to cement its place in something it hasn’t reached since 2005 — the Big East tournament.

‘We just have to keep it up,’ Borgstrom said. ‘Because we’re not done yet.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm