Syracuse men’s soccer nearly stuns No. 8 Stanford before late rally
Syracuse men’s soccer nearly stuns No. 8 Stanford before late rally
The Orange pushed the Cardinal to the wire but fell short in the ACC opener.
Syracuse men’s soccer almost pulled off a massive upset against Stanford Saturday night, but a flurry of late goals gave the Cardinal a 3-2 win at the SU Soccer Stadium.
It was the first meeting between the two programs since Stanford joined the ACC last season, and despite a heartbreaking finish, Syracuse showed it can compete with the nation’s elite teams.
“We played a really good team. There’s a reason why they were number one in the country last week, but I think we answered a lot of questions on how good this team can be,” said head coach Ian McIntyre.
The Orange came out energized, ending a scoring drought that had stretched over five halves across three games when sophomore midfielder Kristjan Fortier put the Orange up in the 10th minute with a top-left shelf strike from outside the 18.
Fortier returned from injury in the last game against New Haven, playing just 31 minutes. In his second game back and first start of the season, he sent a packed Orange crowd into a frenzy.
“We know he can strike the ball – we saw it last year,” McIntyre said. “He missed the first month of the season, so we’re trying to use common sense with playing Kristjan. But he’s a fit kid who brings intensity.”
It was quality play on both sides of the ball through the midway point of the first half, until a booth review awarded Stanford a penalty kick off a Syracuse handball in the box. Stanford senior midfielder Zach Bohane converted the PK, leveling the score at 1-1. Despite the setback, Syracuse dominated the shot chart, holding a 5-2 advantage at halftime.
The second half saw a back-and-forth battle, with Stanford nearly reclaiming the lead in the 70th minute when a defensive scramble allowed Shane Flores a golden opportunity in front of the net with the goalie out of position – only to be denied by sophomore defender Garrett Holman, who made the defensive play of the game.
Momentum shifted to the Orange after that.
In the 76th minute, following a deflected shot by Quentin Christey, the ball found sophomore Chimere Omeze, who slotted it past Stanford goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead.
With just 14 minutes remaining, the stadium erupted as the Orange looked poised to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season.
But Stanford responded with fury in the final 10 minutes.
Fletcher Bank scored in the 79th minute for the equalizer, and Trevor Islam knocked in the game-winning goal in the 85th minute, silencing the home crowd and handing the Orange a tough loss.
“We battled today, but I’m just disappointed to not get the win,” Fortier said. “We come into every game expecting to win, and we have to find ways to win games like that.”
There were positives across the board for the Orange, who outshot the Cardinal 11-8, making it the fourth consecutive game of besting their opponent in that category.
Syracuse also successfully defended set pieces, not allowing a goal on any of Stanford’s 10 corner kicks.
“It’s the first conference game,” McIntyre said. “We played one of the favorites tonight and had really good moments. If we continue to build and keep bringing that intensity, we’re going to take the roof off the stadium.”
With the loss, Syracuse moves to 2-3-2 overall and 0-1-0 in ACC play. The Orange are still searching for their first home victory, now sitting at 0-3-2 at the SU Soccer Stadium.
Stanford bounces back in ACC play after a loss to Louisville last week that knocked them from No. 1 in the nation to No. 8. They improve to 5-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the ACC.
Up next, Syracuse hits the road for another top 15 ACC matchup, traveling to Durham to face No. 14 Duke on Friday at 7 p.m.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse