Emil Ekblom, upon the announcement of the substitution, slowly walked toward the Syracuse bench.

He then looked up and began clapping as he approached his teammates and the crowd, both of which were applauding him for the best individual performance SU Soccer Stadium has seen thus far this season.

Ekblom logged the first hat trick by an SU player since 2008 and also chipped in an assist in the Orange’s (8-3-0, 2-3-0 Atlantic Coast) 5-0 steamrolling of North Carolina State (4-3-2, 1-3-1). The freshman from Norway feasted on the Wolfpack defense with three straight goals to punctuate a Friday night that couldn’t have gone much better for Syracuse’s attack.

“He was pretty good, wasn’t he?” said head coach Ian McIntyre. “To score three goals, that’s what he’s here to do. He wants to score goals. He’s frustrated in games he doesn’t score goals, but that’s a good problem to have.”

With the Orange up 1-0 in the 23rd minute, Ekblom ran down a through ball in the corner and then ripped a two-hop cross to the middle of the box. Forward Chris Nanco, sprinting right down the middle of the field, had a step on his defender and drilled the ball into the goal to double SU’s lead.

“Today we talked about — before the game — to get off to a good start, which we didn’t do against Virginia,” Ekblom said, “and I thought we did that (tonight). We got two quick goals and completely controlled the match.”

Ekblom’s night was just starting.

Barely a minute later, he headed a rebound off a corner kick into the net and suddenly Syracuse had a three-goal advantage.

The chemistry and ball movement of the Orange attack gave N.C. State fits and offered the SU offense great chances in the attacking third. SU made a conscious effort to expand its width at midfield, Ekblom said, which created plenty of space for him to work.

Syracuse outshot the visitors in the first half 8-0 with Ekblom attempting four. Seven minutes out of the break, Ekblom was at it again.

“He wanted it,” said SU midfielder Nick Perea. “Last game he had some opportunities but wasn’t able to finish anything, so he came out here with a plan and executed. It’s good for his confidence, good for the team and I’m happy for him.”

Alex Halis’ shot from within the box was saved by goalkeeper Fabian Otte, but not secured. Ekblom was there to collect the rebound and although his shot was deflected, it rolled inside the right post for Syracuse’s fourth score.

Just six minutes later, Oyvind Alseth slotted a through ball into the box for Ekblom, with only Otte charging forward out of the net.

Ekblom gathered the pass and, just before Otte was there to make a stop off Ekblom’s foot, chipped a one-bouncer inside the right post.

“The third one — quality, quality finish,” McIntyre said. “Any time you can score a hat trick it’s quite sweet, so well done for him.”

Even with a five-goal lead, Ekblom’s aggression didn’t stop. A ball rolled to him at midfield and, instead of kicking it out to his backs, he sent a pass forward to himself that he ran down to maneuver around four Wolfpack defenders.

But just a few minutes later, McIntyre decided his new leading scorer deserved the rest of the night off, as well as a proper recognition from his teammates and the SU Soccer Stadium faithful.

“It was great to finally get a goal here,” Ekblom said, “and the crowd was amazing.”

Published on October 5, 2013 at 12:18 am

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb