Ithaca – If you took a quick look at the Syracuse men’s soccer team after Wednesday night’s game at Cornell’s Berman Field, you didn’t notice a team that had just won its first game of the season.

Instead, you saw relief.

Relief that the Orange won, 2-1, over in-state rival Cornell. Relief that its nine-game road winless streak, which dated back to 2003, ended. And relief that the players would finally be able to escape the torment of more than two hours of constant rain.

Indeed, SU was happy to escape from soggy Cornell on Wednesday night.

‘It feels great, especially since it was against Cornell,’ forward Jeff Evans said. ‘It’s a big rivalry.’

Syracuse normally plays Cornell twice a year – once in the fall, and again in a scrimmage during the spring. Evans said there was some bad blood lingering from the spring game, and it was obvious on the field as players jawed at each other throughout.

At one point, Evans inadvertently kicked a Cornell player in the chest and immediately heard about it from a few of the nearby Cornell players. Words were exchanged, and a fiery Evans stormed off.

What made the atmosphere even more intense was the weather.

Rain pelted Berman Field all evening, creating a water-logged mess. Many SU players agreed the weather affected the style of play, changing them from a fast, athletic team to one that relied more on direct contact and better passes.

‘It’s huge,’ freshman Pete Rowley said of the weather. ‘The ball is skipping all over. It’s tough to judge the bounces.’

Syracuse normally relies on its faster, more athletic forwards to outrun opponents on the offensive end. But with the weather playing such a factor, the Orange had to adjust.

‘The one thing we always have up against Cornell is we’re more athletic and faster,’ Evans said. ‘It was hard to play balls over the top and beat them with our athleticism. We kind of had to play things more with our feet and connect with each other more.’

Being able to adjust to the weather is one reason why Syracuse is no longer stuck in a miserable road winless streak.

Before Wednesday’s win, the last Syracuse road win was in 2002. Coincidentally, it was also at Cornell’s Berman Field.

But after going 0-for-the road all of last year, Syracuse was in desperate need of a positive road trip. It couldn’t have come at a better time. After Saturday’s upcoming Big East game at home vs. Boston College, the Orange embarks on a five-game road trip, and Evans said winning on the road affected SU.

‘It’s a great way to start off,’ Evans said. ‘We kind of had to make sure we started off the right way on the road.’

Published on September 8, 2004 at 12:00 pm