The pattern continues for the Syracuse men’s soccer team: control the ball offensively, garner more chances, yet slip up and allow the one goal that it cannot afford to surrender.

Wednesday night was no different for the Orange. It was another 1-0 defeat and another game that left Syracuse scratching its head for answers to its offensive ineptitude.

This time, it was No. 23 Hartwick at Syracuse Soccer Stadium that blanked the Orange. But substitute any of Syracuse’s 2004 opponents, and the script would be eerily similar. After all, it was the sixth 1-0 defeat the Orange has suffered this season and the 13th straight Syracuse game decided by one goal, including all 11 this year.

The Orange (2-9) has lost six straight games.

‘It’s really frustrating,’ redshirt freshman Isaac Collings said. ‘It’s not working for us. I don’t know.’

Syracuse outshot the Hawks, 9-5, and controlled play throughout most of the game. After dominating play through the early part of the second half, it was only fitting that a loose ball led to the game’s only goal.

‘In the second half, Syracuse started on top, getting the better of the game,’ Hartwick head coach Ian McIntyre said. ‘We scored a good goal out of nothing and thankfully managed to somehow hold on.’

In the 72nd minute, Hartwick (7-2-3) midfielder Omar Gordon plucked himself off the ground just long enough to gain control of a loose ball near his feet. Gordon, who was about 20 yards out, then fired a shot perfectly into the left corner of the net, past SU goalie Alim Karim, that careened off the post.

Gordon couldn’t have placed the dagger any better. With just one shot, Syracuse was left in an all-too-familiar place: down a goal and facing a shutout.

‘Again, we dominate the game,’ Collings said. ‘The ball’s down in their half the whole game and they get a couple breaks back and one shot, it slips up. He just put it on net and that was it.’

Throughout most of the second half, though, it appeared Syracuse was on the verge of gaining the lead. Collings generated three quality scoring chances alone in a span of six minutes.

On one, Collings cut back into the middle of the field, but placed the shot right on net. On another, he attempted a spectacular bicycle kick on a cross, but the shot missed its mark wide left.

The bicycle attempt illustrated the Orange’s scoring plight. The chances are there, the balls just aren’t being put in the back of the net.

It’s the same pattern every game.

‘Some days in practice, we just work on finishing,’ Collings said. ‘On the other end, we’ve got to find a new way to win. We keep on switching up our formations. We work on that a lot in practice, too. Hopefully, it’ll turn around.’

Published on October 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm