It wasn’t Alex Halis’ night.

After his poor form in the first half, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre sat Halis after halftime in favor of Grant Chong. The freshman midfielder didn’t re-enter until there were just three minutes left in regulation, finishing the game with the least playing time of any starter.

But when Binghamton’s scrappy effort sent the game into overtime, SU goalkeeper Alex Bono called Halis over and the two had a long talk before jogging back onto the field.

“Listen,” Bono told him, “you’re the hero on this team, you’re the superstar, and all it’s going to take is one.”

“It’s a new game. You didn’t have the greatest 90 minutes, but get it out of your head.”

Halis listened.

In the 105th minute, Binghamton goalie Stefan Frantellizzi allowed a rebound in front of the net and Halis tapped in the game-clinching goal. In a flash, his subpar performance was erased by the contest’s defining moment.

Syracuse (7-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) needed overtime to edge Binghamton (2-6-2) 2-1 at SU Soccer Stadium on Tuesday night. In what Bono characterized as a “rivalry,” the Orange couldn’t net a second goal in the second half despite a flurry of chances. But Halis remedied SU’s inconsistent play with a sudden-death goal to help the Orange avoid tying a lesser opponent.

“I’m still in shock and it hasn’t hit me yet,” Halis said after the game. “I saw Oyvind (Alseth) wind up for a shot and my first thing was to go to the net. Luckily it came my way, I picked up the garbage then scored.”

Although Syracuse escaped with the win, Binghamton should have been a cinch.

But SU has been lackadaisical in some of its nonconference games. Earlier in the season, Syracuse needed a boost from its bench to achieve a 2-0 win against Hartwick, and Manhattan hung around before the Orange ran away with a 4-1 victory.

Bono called Tuesday a “trap game,” in which the Orange let the Bearcats hang around for too long.

“We didn’t put away our chances,” Bono said. “The more you let an average team hang around, the more you let them believe they can win.”

After three straight acrobatic saves by Bono in the 26th minute, Stefanos Stamoulacatos capitalized on a bad touch by Binghamton defender Derrick Ladeairous and slotted the ball into the left side of the net, giving SU a 1-0 lead.

“They were beating us on the counterattack, but it’s also a strategy that helps us,” Bono said. “We scored on it tonight, so it really went both ways.”

But SU had trouble playing with a lead for the rest of the night. The offense was sloppy, the defense was lethargic and a lazy turnover by Nick Perea in the 79th minute gave the Bearcats a window of opportunity.

Binghamton’s Ben Nicholson snuck behind defender Tyler Hilliard and put home a rebound goal that knotted the score 1-1. With the Orange stunned, Nicholson cartwheeled then flipped by the far sideline before a crowd of Bearcats interrupted his gymnastics routine.

Syracuse was 11 minutes away from escaping with an ugly win, but instead it was again a stalemate.

“I thought we started well but when we scored I think they got a foothold in the game,” McIntyre said. “If you don’t get that second goal you’re always leaving yourself a little open, and they took their chance.”

Before overtime, the tension surrounding Syracuse was palpable. Bono repeatedly shook his head. The team had lost its competitive flare and McIntyre anxiously paced. Back-and-forth, back-and-forth, from the sideline to his seat.

But a strong offensive push just before the midway point of the second overtime period was punctuated by the one thing Syracuse needed.

Halis hardly saw the ball touch the back of the net before he sprinted to the corner where the entire team, bench included, went into a frenzy.

Just when the Orange was about to implode, it exploded instead.

“A win is a win to be honest,” Halis said. “Winning in overtime, winning in extra time. Like I said, win’s a win.”

Published on October 2, 2013 at 1:13 am

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse