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On Sept. 19, 2023, Syracuse fell 2-1 to Cornell on the road. In that game, a 1-1 tie was broken when the Big Red’s Alex Harris scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute.

Tuesday’s rematch was a chance for Syracuse to avenge the loss against its nearby foe and snap Cornell’s six-game unbeaten streak to start the season.

As Tuesday’s contest drifted toward the final stages, the score stood at 0-0. But once again, Cornell snatched a late winner to decide the game.

On a counterattack, Connor Miller volleyed home the lone goal to give Cornell (5-0-2, 0-0-0 Ivy League) a 1-0 win over Syracuse (3-3-3, 0-1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) Tuesday. Late goals have plagued the Orange in their last two games after they ceded a 1-0 lead when Louisville struck a 90th minute equalizer on Friday.

“I can’t sugarcoat it, to concede that late at home against a really good Cornell team was disappointing,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said.

McIntyre mentioned Cornell found success throughout the game in transitional moments off turnovers, and that is exactly what led to Miller’s deciding finish. After Daniel Burko gave up possession at the top of the 18-yard box, Miller carried the ball out of the Big Red’s defensive half.

Then Miller sent a through ball to Danny Lokko on the right wing. Lokko took the ball to the end line, beating SU defender Sam Layton, before serving a pass across the face of goal. Miller continued his run and connected with the cut-back, hammering a shot past goalkeeper Tomas Hut.

“The second half I thought we were good, but then we ran out of steam a little,” McIntyre said. “It’s a tough time of year for us. We had a long travel out to Louisville, and we looked a little bit leggy those last 10 minutes hanging on.”

After playing in 85 degrees in Louisville, according to McIntyre, SU had to adjust to the heavy rain and wet pitch it had to contend with Tuesday. Early in the game, Cornell tested the SU backline by serving a corner into the six-yard box, but Hut punched the ball clear. Hut saw action again two minutes later when he was forced to come out to claim a free kick by Westin Carnevale.

The Big Red tested Hut throughout the contest, managing 17 shots and forcing the SU keeper to make five saves. In the 12th minute, Cornell’s Daniel Samways’ cross found Alioune Ka, who hit his shot wide of the mark from close range.

Gabe Threadgold registered SU’s first shot of the day in the 21st minute when his cross forced a tipped save by Ryan Friedberg.

However, Cornell was back on the attack soon after. After losing his marker, Harris found himself one-on-one with Hut on the left side of the box in the 23rd minute. But Harris whistled his effort wide of the goal, missing an early opportunity to open the scoring.

“(Cornell) started better than us,” McIntyre said. “As the game wore on, I thought we got back in it.”

To close the first half, Cornell’s Aidan Martin found himself open on the left side, but his finish failed to find the target, veering to the right.

Three minutes into the second half, Syracuse’s Chimere Omeze connected on a header off a corner at the back post. But Friedberg sprawled to his right to deny the attempt and keep the game level.

Syracuse’s offensive struggles were best summed up in the 53rd minute, when Nicholas Kaloukian had dinked the ball around Carnevale and was bearing down on the Cornell backline. But the striker then collided with Threadgold and both fell to the ground. The promising counterattack ended with both of them picking themselves off the wet pitch and wiping the mud off their jerseys as Cornell launched its own offensive.

Syracuse gained more traction into the game in the second half, managing seven shots after it only logged two in the opening frame. In the 54th minute, Kaloukian fired a shot that Friedberg palmed away.

With 30 minutes to play, Cornell’s Sam Latona uncorked a fizzing shot that forced Hut to make a leaping save to tip the bid over.

In the 80th minute, after scrapping to maintain the ball, Kaloukian set up Burko on the left side of the box. Burko cut in on his right before shaping a curling try. Friedberg dove to his left to catch the effort.

“We broke through a couple of times, but we just lacked the final product,” Burko said. “If we get that one goal, it’s a different game.”

Five minutes later, Miller would draw first blood for the Big Red late in the match.

Syracuse threw numbers forward in the waning moments, thrusting repeated crosses into the 18-yard box. But nothing came off.

“We tried our best,” Burko said. “We put numbers forward. We were dangerous. We got chances. But if we just did that a bit earlier, it might have ended differently.”

Cornell cleared attack after attack and survived to defeat Syracuse for the second year in a row. Even if the result was not what SU wanted, McIntyre sees growth from his young team in games like Tuesday’s.

“I’m very proud of the work ethic of the guys,” McIntyre said. “We are so close. I think we are growing into a team that can win these games, and when we do, it’s going to be very enjoyable.”

Published on September 24, 2024 at 11:44 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal