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Goalkeeper Joe Papaleo held onto the ball and was ready to punt it deep. Through five overtimes in the 1982 Big East Championship, neither Syracuse nor Boston College had notched a single goal.

Trying to start an attack, Papaleo launched the ball to Steve Klaus, who flicked it with his head. Syracuse midfielder Jim Powers had a step on the Eagles’ backline and took two huge touches, settling himself just inside the 18. Powers slotted his only goal of the season in the sudden-death sixth overtime — the longest match in conference history.

The university honored the 1982 team Saturday for the 40th anniversary of the success. The goal secured Syracuse’s first-ever Big East title, capping off a 17-3-2 season, the best mark in Syracuse history. SU won eight consecutive matches and had a 14-match unbeaten streak — both SU records. The Orange conceded 10 goals and recorded a .940 save percentage, the second-best mark in NCAA history.

Despite the conference title, Syracuse’s win over Boston College would be the team’s final match of the season. It wasn’t selected to the NCAA Tournament since automatic bids were not in effect back then. In 2012, Powers told the Daily Orange the team felt “snubbed.”

The team still holds some of Syracuse’s best honors and records. In 1983, Papaleo became the only SU goalkeeper to earn All-American honors. Papaleo, Dean Foti, Klaus and Billy Dorante all earned 1982 Big East All-Tournament team honors. Marcello Vitale’s 44 career goals also remains unbeaten.

“The fact that the team four years (prior to 1982) would not have even made that tournament … the fact that they went from zero to hero was indicating as I’m sure satisfying to (SU head coach) Alden (Shattuck) and the seniors,” said Ken Hayward, a defender on the 1982 team.

In 1978, one year before Shattuck became head coach at Syracuse, the program “was always in the doldrums,” Hayward said. The team never qualified for the conference tournament or got big wins.

Shattuck, who won a championship at Hartwick as an assistant in 1977, could “really recognize talent,” Hayward said. Shattuck used his extra scholarship money to bring in his first recruiting class to Syracuse in 1979. He built his starting 11 with nine freshmen and by 1982, the majority of the team had significant experience.

Vitale said that the upperclassmen in 1979 felt some “jealousy” toward the younger players since they earned much more playing time. But the experience paid off down the road as the group became more united, Vitale said.

“In ‘81, we thought we were good, but in ‘82, we knew we were good,” Vitale said.

The diverse roster included several international players from places such as Jamaica, Yugoslavia, Italy and Haiti. Hayward said the team had great chemistry and maintained a “positive environment.” Most of them lived together in apartments at Skytop and were like traditional college kids, doing everything together, Foti said.

“With the cast of characters like that, you could look and go, ‘Oh this is going to be oil and water, or the team could gel,’ and we really did,” Hayward said.

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After each game, every player usually received a per diem of $25, typically to be spent on food, Hayward said. Sometimes the team visited sit-down restaurants. Other times, they spent three dollars at McDonald’s and used the rest on a case of beer.

“Our coach thought of soccer as a British thing,” Hayward said. “And (in England), soccer and beer go hand in hand.”

The Orange didn’t want to “waste” their chance in 1982. But Syracuse underperformed early, falling 1-0 to Fairleigh-Dickinson in its season opener.

“After that, we kind of made our mind up that (if) this is real, we got to put up or shut up,” said Dean Foti, former player and head coach of the Orange.

Six days after the first loss, Syracuse hosted Notre Dame, one of the many “perennial powerhouse” teams SU faced that year, Hayward said. Goals from Klaus, Vitale and John Karanfilovski gave the Orange a 3-1 victory over the Fighting Irish, kick-starting an eight-game winning streak where SU outscored its opponents 28-2.

The biggest win during that streak came against rival UConn. At the time, the Huskies were in their “hayday,” Foti said. Syracuse managed to pull off a 3-1 victory at home, including a goal from sweeper Billy Dorante. Hayward said Dorante never drew attention to himself as the last man back. But against UConn, he ran the entire length of the field and scored.

“It was no contest (against UConn),” Hayward said. “Then we knew we were legit.”

After a 1-1 tie against Oneonta, SU extended its unbeaten streak to 14 games with five straight wins. It had four-plus goal victories against Army, St. Bonaventure and Buffalo and a 2-1 win over Hobart.

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Eventually, Syracuse had a tough three-game stretch, where it lost to Long Island and Columbia. But those would be the last defeats of the season, as the Orange finished the regular season off with a 2-0 win at Cornell. They outscored opponents 51-8 in the regular season.

For the first-ever Big East Championship Tournament, SU joined Boston College, St. John’s and host UConn in the four-team field. In the semifinal against the Red Storm, Syracuse quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime with goals from Klaus and Karanfilovski. St. John’s managed to get one score early in the second half, but Klaus scored another to give SU a comfortable 3-1 lead. The Red Storm cut the deficit once more, but it wouldn’t be enough as SU advanced to the title game against Boston College.

Powers had been struggling to get significant playing time all season, Hayward said, and against Boston College, he was given two opportunities as a substitute — once in regulation and once in the sixth overtime. Powers capitalized as his goal secured the title for the Orange.

“Being able to score that goal to win the game and the first-ever Big East Championship, I mean for me, it’s one of those moments you never forget,” Powers said.

Not many Syracuse teams have repeated the success of the 1982 squad, which multiple players attributed to how the college game has evolved. Foti, who coached the Orange for 19 years, said that winning just 10 games nowadays is an accomplishment.

“It makes you feel really good about not just the time that you were here, but also the efforts that you put in to make (the program) what it is,” Foti said. “There actually is some tradition and there is some history to point back, to look back upon and think fondly of.”

Published on September 11, 2022 at 11:50 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini