Jordan Vale started playing soccer at a young age, but he wasn’t always 100 percent focused on the game.

George Vale recalls his son running around as a gargoyle or playing marbles with rolled-up balls of mud while the game unfolded around him.

“He used to do that during the match,” George Vale said in an email. “Much to my dismay, but to his mum’s laughter.”

Since then, though, Vale has devoted his life to soccer and has excelled at Syracuse during his freshman season. The New Zealand native leads the team with eight goals, the most for an SU freshman since 2000, including five during Big East play. The freshman will look to continue his Big East dominance as Syracuse (12-4, 5-2) faces St. John’s (9-3-4, 3-3-1) on Friday night.

Not being able to watch his son shine at Syracuse has been tough for George, but he’s managed to make due with what he has through various gamecasts.

“When I saw his goal versus Colgate I said, ‘Why didn’t you say you scored a cracker?’ He said it felt good, but I wanted to see what it was like on video,” George said.

When the Orange squares off against St. John’s, George will finally get that chance. The game will be televised online on ESPN3, which will give George a chance to watch a game in its entirety instead of just bits and pieces or short highlights.

George has had the chance to see many highlights, though, as Vale’s highlight clip in his rookie season continues to expand.

With his success in Big East play, the accolades have piled up for Vale. He was named the Big East Rookie of the Week on Oct. 8 and awarded a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for the week ending Oct. 21.

Vale’s immediate success doesn’t come as much of a surprise to teammate Lars Muller. Muller knew Vale would excel for the Orange as soon as the team started practicing.

Muller saw something different in Vale, a natural instinct and dexterity at finishing around the net, particularly with his head.

“He’s more explosive than the other players in the box,” Muller said. “I think that’s why he scores so many goals with the head.”

Though the 5-foot-10-inch Vale isn’t tall, Muller said he is tactfully aggressive when moving to the ball. Vale’s proficiency at scoring header goals has helped ignite the Orange to a victory on multiple occasions, including in a conference matchup against Rutgers.

Vale’s most recent goal came in the 40th minute of Syracuse’s 2-0 win over DePaul. Juuso Pasanen lofted a ball into the box. Vale jockeyed for position and got the back of his head on the ball, which ricocheted past the keeper and into the net.

Muller is excited at the thought that Vale has three more years in an Orange uniform.

“You’re asking yourself, ‘How good is he going to be when he’s a senior?’” Muller said. “He’s a young kid, but he understands the game and it’s really nice to play with him.”

Vale wasn’t sure of what to expect coming into his freshman season. He said the style of play is much more physical and fast-paced in America. Despite the necessary adjustments Vale knew he’d be ready for the challenge.

“I was confident in coming in here with the team and confident in myself,” Vale said. “I was just hoping I’d carry that confidence into games and do well. As a team we have, and individually mostly I have.”

Head coach Ian McIntyre has been impressed with Vale’s play thus far. The rookie leads the team in goals and overall points, and has been a spark plug for Syracuse throughout the season.

McIntyre said Vale is aggressive with his runs into the box and has scored goals in a variety of ways at important times for Syracuse.

“He’s made a quick transition to the college game,” McIntyre said. “He’s got the physicality and the technique. He’s got a terrific worth ethic. I think that’s probably what separates him — to play at the same tempo for 90 minutes.”

Published on October 25, 2012 at 1:28 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass