Syracuse men’s soccer: Orange extend streak to three with 2-1 win at Providence

The Orange delivered another convincing display as they defeated their second top-40 opponent on the bounce.

The Syracuse Orange men’s soccer team secured another convincing 2-1 victory on Tuesday night at Providence to keep postseason hopes alive. In a balanced game, a first NCAA goal for Carlos Zambrano and a late winner from Chimere Omeze proved to be the difference.

Following wins against Notre Dame and Albany last week, the Orange will have to keep results up if they want to bounce back from a poor September and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.

This away day was always bound to be a challenge for Cuse at a Friars side just outside the top-25. Playing in the Big East, the Friars are a battle-tested team, playing some of the top sides in the nation this season. Lukas Burns and Vasco Teixeira are key contributors in the Friar’s net and defense respectively. At the other end of the pitch, Bruno Rosa had seven goal contributions in 11 matches going into this game.

The first half of the match was pretty well-balanced for both sides, particularly in the early stages. The Orange almost scored in the first 20 seconds as a low-driven volley from Omeze was well saved by Lukas Burns.

The Cuse defense was able to use a few clever offside traps to limit the Friars’ attack, and generated some great chances through the creativity of Elton Chifamba, Carlos Zambrano, and Nathan Scott in the midfield.

As we saw for the first time in the last match, Omeze started again at the wing-back position with freshman Dominic Bell further cementing his spot in the side in the back three. This pair put in a shut-up-shop performance down SU’s right side throughout the game, and look to be nailed on starters for the Orange for the next few seasons.

Omeze’s defensive work on the right side allowed Gabe Threadgold to venture forward and express himself on the left, where he frequently linked up with Zambrano and Braedon Smith.

In the 31st minute, this connection paid off as Threadgold lofted a beautiful ball into the left corridor for the onrushing Smith. Smith burnt his man and whipped a great ball into a dangerous area, which Zambrano finished off to put Syracuse up 1-0.

After starting for the first time against UAlbany a week ago, Zambrano has seized his opportunity with both hands, looking like a creative force for the Orange in possession. Out of possession, the JUCO transfer from Miami has also worked doggedly for the good of the team, earning himself an elevated role in the squad.

The second half started with similar trends to the first. Both teams were neck and neck for chances and time on the ball, with the Friars pushing aggressively up the field to try and earn a goal back.

Throwing more bodies forward, the Friars caught the Cuse defense out on the break in the 58th minute. A cutback to the edge of the box from the rapid Sam Montalto ended at the feet of Steban Lopera, who slotted beautifully into the bottom corner.

The game fell back to its end-to-end nature until a dangerous set-piece opportunity for the Orange in the 70th minute. A great ball into the box from Chifamba floated over the crowd to Chimere Omeze at the back post. His initial attempt looked to have been just squandered as he hit the ball off the post. Luckily for the freshman from Canada, his initial shot bounced right back to him to finish easily and put the Orange up 2-1. This goal gave Omeze, the freshman, his third set-piece goal of the season.

After this goal, the Orange were able to shut down the Friars for the remainder of the game, packing the box and only allowing one more shot in the last 20 minutes.

In games earlier this season, such as Charlotte, Boston College, Louisville, and Wake Forest, we saw SU seize winning positions early on, only to squander their leads and end the matches in losses or draws.

The most promising development in recent games against Notre Dame and Providence has been seeing the Orange take the lead, take a blow that would have knocked them down earlier this season, then respond to go on to earn the win. This quality was one of the main marks of Head Coach Ian McIntyre’s sides over the last two seasons.

Hopefully, this is a skill that many of the Orange’s young players are now starting to pick up. With a very difficult run-in in the last few matches, SU will need some strong results to possibly qualify for the NCAA Tournament. If this doesn’t happen, this same bounce-back mentality will be what they need to win the ACC Tournament and get an automatic bid.

Following this encouraging road result, SU will return home for their last non-conference game of the season against Loyola on October 15. The Orange conclude the regular season with a difficult run of three ACC matchups at Virginia, at reigning National Champions #24 Clemson, and at home against undefeated #1 Pitt. Stay tuned for updates on these games and all things SU soccer.