In its final exhibition match before the regular season, No. 20 Syracuse defeated No. 3 Georgetown 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C. After victories over Fordham and Ryerson, the win brought SU’s final preseason record to 3-0.

Junior midfielder Nick Perea scored two goals and added an assist. Perea’s three goals scored during the exhibition season tied for the team lead with sophomore midfielder Stefanos Stamoulacatos, who also scored Sunday.

“We’re learning a lot about our team,” SU Head Coach Ian McIntyre said. “The first part of this week will be just kind of putting us back together, training the correct way, training the smart way, to gear us up for Colgate.”

Syracuse will open the regular season against the Raiders on Friday at 7 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y.

Along with the play of Perea and Stamoulacatos, freshmen Chris Nanco and Alex Halis’ performances — each notched one goal and one assist — have stood out during the preseason. With the Orange losing its top five goal scorers from last season, having seven different goal scorers during the preseason is a promising sign.

On Sunday, Syracuse had the momentum early, scoring two goals in a four-minute span. In the seventh minute, Nanco was brought down in the box by the Georgetown goalkeeper, awarding the Orange a penalty kick. Perea stepped up and made the shot, giving the Orange a 1-0 lead.

In the 10th minute, junior defender Jordan Murrell sent a ball into the box, which was headed in by Perea. The forward’s second goal of the game and third goal of the exhibition season gave the Orange a 2-0 lead.

“He’s been outstanding,” McIntyre said. “We’re looking for him to chip in.”

Stamoulacatos scored 11 minutes into the second half to give the Orange a 3-0 lead. Perea picked up his fifth point of the game with an assist.

The game wasn’t all in SU’s favor. After Perea’s second goal, the Hoyas had several scoring chances. In the second half, Alex Bono had a few saves, highlighted by a stellar kick-save in the 69th minute to keep the shutout intact.

In his first time playing an entire game this preseason, Bono finished with seven saves.

Georgetown, though, prevented the shutout after senior forward Steve Neumann scored on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.

“It’s a great result on the road against a very, very strong Georgetown team,” McIntyre said. “We’ll take a lot of confidence from here. The guys worked very hard today and to come here into this kind of environment and get a win, it’s great.”

Published on August 26, 2013 at 12:28 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu