Syracuse Men’s Soccer draws Penn State 1-1 in early season test

Game three of the Syracuse Men’s Soccer season against Penn State was not one to disappoint.

The Orange hosted the Nittany Lions at the SU Soccer Stadium, in which the game ended in a 1-1 draw, including a last second save from Penn State goalie Jonathan Evans on a breakaway.

 “It was a great college soccer game”, said Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre. “They [Penn State] were really good tonight”.

Both Syracuse and Penn State have held this matchup four times now since 2021, with the record being 1-1-2 for both. 

The draw gets both their records to 1-1-1 early on in the season. 

The game was back and forth all throughout, but the first finish of the night came from blue and orange stripes.

Sophomore, Kelvin Da Costa, fires his first of the season in the thirteenth minute on a deflection ball from way beyond the eighteen yard box. The assist by the Mozambique went to midfielder Nathan Scott. 

“I haven’t scored in years”, Da Costa said on the unexpected finish that gave his team the early lead, and his first career goal. “It feels amazing”.

Despite the goal, Penn State continued to pour on the pressure, with multiple attempts just missing their mark. 

The Nittany Lions were missing their top goal scorer in CF Montreal draftee Caden Grabfelder, who picked up a red card in their 2-1 loss to Army. 

It showed in moments all game long. The team couldn’t take advantage of the chances they created.

But late in the first half, Penn State capitalized.

In the forty-third minute, English midfielder Freddie Bell connected his foot with a powerful strike that evened the score just before the halftime whistle. 

In the second half, both teams were giving themselves chances to take the lead, but stellar goalkeeper play was the story on both sides of the ball. 

Tomas Hut made four saves on the night, and was the main reason Syracuse came up with a point. 

“That’s probably his best performance in a Syracuse shirt”, McIntyre said of his graduate student goalkeeper.

The game came down to the wire, with both teams coming so close to scoring what would’ve been an eventual winner. 

That included Landon Darko getting a fast break chance in the final minute to win it.

Getting through the defense, he attempted to get around the Penn State goalkeeper, but was not able to get the space to put one in the net. 

Even with the chance of a major win slipping through the Syracuse grasp, McIntyre was happy about the team’s early season performance. 

“They’re a handful”, McIntyre said about the talented squad they faced, and what a challenge it sets them up for later on in the season. “You can’t replicate that intensity”.

The game did start to get more physical as the evening progressed, with three Penn State players receiving yellow cards. 

It shows a new gear in this Syracuse squad that they may not have had last year, and it really could show they havegrown from previous seasons. 

“Can’t complain with a big result like that”, goalkeeper Tomas Hut said on the big time victory. “It’s definitely a good test for us, I’m glad they put on that game”.

The experience helps the youth as well, as the Orange had three freshmen playing marquee minutes late in the contest.

“For the new guys it gives them a new experience, new intensity for what’s to come”, Da Costa said.

Syracuse following the early season test will have three games to pick up three points, before they begin their ACC campaign at home against Stanford.

The Orange travel to Connecticut on Monday for a clash with the Yale Bulldogs, with the hopes to improve their record to 2-1-1.