Syracuse men’s soccer head coach Dean Foti said he’s done all he can to motivate his team during an uninspiring start to the season.

After spending much of the last two weeks struggling through grueling practice sessions, Foti and his coaching staff lightened the load on the Orangemen (3-2, 1-0 Big East), ending Tuesday’s practice 15 minutes early.

Now, he hopes a meeting with No. 8 Loyola (3-1) — Syracuse’s first matchup with a ranked opponent — rouses the team from its early-season sleepwalk.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to just flip the switch,” midfielder Ryan Hall said. “I hope this game is motivating. If it’s not, I don’t know what they’ll get up for.”

Foti spent the initial stages of the season working many of his older players into shape, as well as generating team chemistry. For players to grow accustomed to working together, the Orangemen went through intense practice sessions.

The strategy failed. The Orangemen lost their first two games before winning three in a row in less-than-convincing fashion. The combined record of SU’s last three opponents is 4-10-2. The Orangemen needed a second-half goal against winless Adelphi and an overtime tally against Georgetown.

“We looked sluggish against Adelphi,” assistant coach Rob Irvine said. “You try to take the last game and gauge how we looked. We looked sluggish, so we’ve taken that into consideration and taken it easy.”

Against Loyola, the Orangemen meet a team heading in the other direction. Although they lost to Maryland, 3-1, in their latest matchup, the Greyhounds have soared in the national rankings.

After starting the year a spot ahead of Syracuse at No. 22 in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25, Loyola won three straight games, rising to its current position.

Loyola is also Syracuse’s last non-state, out-of-conference game. That means the game becomes one of the Orangemen’s final chances to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee with a quality non-conference win.

“You need some good non-conference wins,” senior Kevin Boyle said. “But right now, we’re in no position at all. Forget NCAA’s, let’s focus on staying above .500.”

To do so, Syracuse will have to improve its offensive output. The Orangemen have scored more than one goal twice, and while SU averages seven more shots than the Greyhounds, it is currently shooting at a paltry 8.5-percent clip.

Loyola, meanwhile, has buried 23 percent of its efforts. Despite taking nearly 50 fewer attempts, the Greyhounds have scored two more goals than SU.

“We can’t take off the first 20 minutes,” Hall said. “We’ve done just enough to get by. The teams we’ve played have missed opportunities. Loyola will definitely bury them.”

The offensive effort will also be inhibited by Loyola’s all-conference tandem of goaltender Rob Beatty and defender Niall Lepper. Syracuse’s forward combination of Kirk Johnson, Guido Cristofori and Jarett Park will face their toughest assignment yet this season.

Lepper is the reigning MAAC player of the year and a candidate for All-America honors. Beatty was named to the first-team All-MAAC squad last year.

“Lepper is a big Scottish kid,” Irvine said. “He’s a very solid player, nothing flashy, but very composed.”

Published on September 17, 2002 at 12:00 pm