Julian Buescher doesn’t have the height of Juuso Pasanen — the two-inch difference preventing him from consistently winning headers. He doesn’t have the physicality either, lacking the ability to muscle opponents off the ball as effectively as his teammate.

But for the second game in a row, Buescher will likely have to take Pasanen’s spot on the field.

“He has the same role as Juuso did,” midfielder Oyvind Alseth said. “Keep moving the ball and be a shield for our center backs.”

Pasanen and midfielder Korab Syla both have “a little way to go” before coming back from injuries, head coach Ian McIntyre said. They’re day-to-day, though Buescher is “pretty sure” Pasanen will be back for the postseason.

The injuries have pushed Buescher, Syracuse’s most offensive player, back to its most defensive midfield position. It took the Orange almost 75 minutes to score against North Carolina State on Friday, but SU was able to come back for the 2-1 victory. No. 12 Syracuse (10-4-2, 3-3-1 Atlantic Coast) will try to find a way to do the same in its second— and possibly last — full game with its altered lineup when it heads to Boston College (8-6-1, 3-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.

SU is currently sits at sixth place in the conference. With a win and some help it could earn the No. 4 seed and host a game in the second round of the ACC tournament along with getting a first-round bye.

“It went OK on Friday,” Buescher said. “I hope I do better next Friday. I think then I am done with it for the season, but I don’t mind the position at all.”

What Buescher lacks in size and physicality he makes up for in ball handling and stamina, Alseth said. Buescher added that he relies on the “big guys” behind him to win the headers coming his way.

From the defensive midfield, Buescher can dictate the game a little bit more, he said. In the past, playing the attacking midfield, he’s often too far forward to maneuver the ball around the field and is the one receiving the pass instead of distributing it.

Sometimes Buescher edges up in situations where Pasanen would stay back, midfielder Andreas Jenssen said, forcing him or Alseth to cover defensively. Buescher said he’ll try to go forward even more against Boston College and see how it works out.

“Getting that balance in midfield without Juuso in there … everyone is adapting and changing their roles a little bit,” McIntyre said.

Buescher has been one of the main catalysts for Syracuse’s 16th-ranked scoring offense — leading the team with seven goals, seven assists, 21 points and 47 shots. Whenever his position shifted from center attacking midfielder earlier in the season, it was to a forward position next to Ben Polk.

Friday was just the third time all season he didn’t register a shot on goal — a product of his move to center defensive midfielder.

“He has been a guy responsible for a lot of the things we’ve been producing forward so it puts some more responsibility on the rest of us playing up there,” Alseth said. “We’ve just got to embrace the challenge. … It’s time for the rest of us to step up.”

Polk has emerged as the Orange’s second-leading point producer and defender Louis Cross netted just his third goal in two seasons with SU to win the game against N.C. State on Friday.

Even Jenssen had a prime scoring chance that he pushed just wide.

Alseth said there were concerns going into the N.C. State game, but the team learned it could win without Pasanen, without Syla and with one of its most dangerous offensive weapons seldom in the attacking third.

Against Boston College, Syracuse will have to prove it again.

Said McIntyre: “We’ll find a way as we did on Friday.”

Published on October 28, 2015 at 8:11 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus