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As Lucas Daunhauer lined up for a 38th-minute goal kick, Syracuse and Cornell’s players swarmed the middle third of the field. With a lot of wind, Daunhauer’s kicks had been landing 50 yards from goal at the midfield line.

Daunhauer’s kick found Camden Holbrook, who bobbled the ball back into Syracuse’s half, allowing Cornell forward Emeka Eneli to take Daunhauer on alone. Eneli dribbled in with pace, but Daunhauer was off his line even quicker, sticking his right arm out to poke the ball away from Eneli as he tried to round away from the Syracuse goalkeeper.

Less than two minutes later, Daunhauer had full possession of the ball again, taking his time to organize his teammates before sending the ball upfield. He walked the ball to the top of the penalty box, set the ball on the grass and booted it forward.

The ball found the head of Hilli Goldhar, who flicked the ball directly behind him to the chest of Francesco Pagano. Pagano sent a surging Holbrook down the left wing, then rushed into the box. Pagano was in between three Cornell defenders. Yet Holbrook sent a low cross his way. Pagano opened up his body, exposing the inside of his right foot and slotted a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.

Daunhauer made six saves as Syracuse (4-3-1, 1-1-0 Atlantic Coast) preserved a 1-1 double-overtime draw to Cornell (4-1-1). Tuesday’s game marked the fourth consecutive start of the season for Daunhauer, who took over for the injured Russell Shealy ahead of the Sep. 6 win over Niagara.

“When called upon, Lucas (Daunhauer) stepped up, and he kept us in it,” head coach Ian McIntyre said. “I thought Lucas probably had his best game in a Syracuse jersey tonight.”

Despite Pagano’s late goal, Syracuse was still very fortunate to maintain its lead into halftime. With 10 seconds left in the first half, Cornell’s Harry Fuller pressured Noah Singelmann, getting a foot on the ball. Singelmann tried to send a short pass to Christian Curti, but Fuller intercepted the pass, immediately sending Eneli. He found a wide-open Charles Touche along the right edge of the penalty box for a point-blank shot on Daunhauer.

Touche fired his shot right at Daunhauer with three seconds left in the period. But Daunhauer sent a long rebound 15 yards away from danger to preserve Syracuse’s lead right at the sound of the horn.

But in the second half, Daunhauer was unable to save Cornell’s eventual equalizer. Daunhauer rolled the ball to Max Kent to play it forward, allowing his center back to utilize his space. But instead, Kent quickly passed the ball into the midfield traffic — intended for Jeorgio Kocevski — before it was intercepted by Big Red midfielder Lalo Serrano. Serrano’s touch sent a bouncing ball forward for Fuller who spun around Kent at the top of the box, sending a curling missile into the far left corner.

“We knew Cornell really likes to press high up the field and cause turnovers,” McIntyre said. “It was picked off, and it was a terrific finish.”

Cornell was able to exploit Syracuse’s three center backs on many occasions, which helped it create its 14 shots. Midway through the first half, the Orange had six players behind the ball defending just three Cornell players in its attacking possession.

With Touche on the ball directly in the mix of the SU defenders, he was able to hold onto the ball long enough to create space to combine with Tyler Bagley. The Big Red duo orchestrated a give-and-go for Touche to send a pass to the left edge of the box for Eneli, splitting SU’s Buster Sjoberg and Luke Biasi. Eneli got a clean cross toward the penalty spot, but Kent was able to clear as no other Cornell forwards joined the attack.

The game remained deadlocked after two, 10-minute overtime periods, a time frame that consisted of a defensive stalemate from both sides. Syracuse only recorded one shot, which came from SU midfielder Curt Calov, during either overtime period. His shot was on goal, an outside-of-the-box shot with some tricky movement, but Cornell goalkeeper Brady McSwain wasn’t fazed by it.

But Daunhauer ultimately spared SU the draw, as he went to challenge Alioune Ka. Ka got his foot on the ball, but Daunhauer slid to make the grab and immediately launched the ball forward. He had halted another Cornell score, sending SU home without a loss.

“It was a tough place to play them. They’re in a good moment right now,” McIntyre said. “At the end of the season we’ll look back on this one, and this will be a good result against a good team on the road.”

Published on September 21, 2021 at 10:39 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu