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With nine minutes to go in regulation, SU propelled into an attack. The ball made its way to midfielder Colin Biros, who decided to cut the ball back. He was tripped, but Jeorgio Kocevski was trailing from behind at the top of the 18-yard box. Kocevski hit a first-time, upper 90 shot to the right corner to put the Orange up 2-0.

The goal effectively ended any chance that Colgate had to level the game as Syracuse (7-0-1, 2-0-0 Atlantic Coast) left Hamilton, New York with a 2-0 win over the Raiders (4-2-1, 1-0-0 Patriot) for its fifth straight win. Colgate contested with Orange, generating its own opportunities. But at the end of the day, goals from Nathan Opoku and Kocevski was all SU needed to secure the victory.

“We found a way to keep a clean sheet on the road and found a way to win the game,” head coach Ian McIntyre said. “I thought Colgate (was) terrific tonight. They really worked hard. They made it difficult.”

Syracuse had the first major chance of the evening just two minutes into the game. After regaining possession in Colgate’s defensive half, Opoku played a simple pass to Levonte Johnson at the top of the box. Johnson played it back, this time to Colin Biros, who’s low-driven shot hit the outside of the side netting.

A few minutes later, Colgate would get its first shot attempt. The Raiders won a header at midfield and the ball trickled toward Antonio Ducrot. Ducrot, instead of taking advantage of the space in front of him, elected to shoot from deep. But the ball was low-driven and nowhere near the goal.

Colgate’s best chance of the first half came off an Opoku turnover with 16 minutes to go. The Raiders quickly countered, getting the ball outside before Donovan received a curling through ball at the top of the 18. His shot went straight to SU goalie Russell Shealy.

On another play towards the end of the first half, midfielder Bobby Foose had a shot opportunity about 15 yards from goal, but the shot was blocked by the sliding Abdi Salim. The ball bounced back out to the top of the 18 where Colgate’s Chris Noriega missed the ball past the left side of the goal.

Syracuse would get the lone goal of the first half. After a broken play between two Colgate defenders, Opoku recovered the ball and played a quick give-and-go with Levonte Johnson. Johnson dished it back to Opoku, who placed the ball perfectly into the lower-right corner of the net, just past the outstretched gloves of goalkeeper Andrew Cooke.

“We kind of huffed and puffed tonight but it took a couple of moments of some special finishes and a bit of composure,” McIntyre said.

The Raiders registered four shots, while the Orange managed just three, and both sides each earned one corner. Both sides were aggressive as four different SU players picked up yellow cards as well as the Syracuse bench.

The Raiders found some ways to get through the Orange backline, which has previously been very difficult to penetrate. Colgate’s Cason Stafford sprinted down the attacking third and tried to slip a through ball. It split SU’s backline, but no one was on the other end and the ball trickled to Shealy.

With 26 minutes left to go in the game, Opoku pressured Cooke. With the ball trickling toward him, Cooke decided to clear it. But the clearance passed the entire SU backline, which was sitting high. It allowed Aidan Davock to drive towards goal and once he entered the 18, he shot straight at Shealy. Shealy finished the game with two saves.

There weren’t too many Raider chances in the second half other than a few set pieces. On a free kick, Alejandro Coury curled the ball, which forced Shealy to come out and punch it away. After SU defender Buster Sjoberg picked up a yellow card, the subsequent free kick in the Orange’s defensive third was cleared away.

The Orange generated six more opportunities in the second half, but it wasn’t on par with their performances against Penn State, Notre Dame and then-No. 1 Clemson. On a free kick, Curt Calov sent a curling ball that looked like it was going to sneak into the near post, but a diving save by Cooke prevented another SU goal.

Biros was influential in developing some scoring chances. On the right side, he slipped the ball into Johnson, who got a touch and faced Cooke inside the box. Cooke came out and narrowed the shooting window, ultimately making a save. On another play, he played a through ball to Francesco Pagano, but again Cooke made an impressive save.

Though Colgate totaled eight shots, the Raiders didn’t threaten too often and its last opportunity from Corey Finchum, intended for the near post, went out wide-right. Kocevski’s goal immediately followed that chance. Defensively, the Orange’s backline held up, not conceding a goal in their sixth game this season.

“The result was more important than the performance and (we’ll) look back on this one later in the season when we realize how important (it was),” McIntyre said.

Published on September 20, 2022 at 10:03 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini