Once the Syracuse men’s soccer team got one goal, it wanted to make sure it didn’t repeat the mistakes of the past – taking control early, only to fall apart in the end.

Unlike its games against Georgetown and Virginia Tech, the Syracuse offense never let up in its 4-0 victory over Cornell last night at Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

‘They were a constant threat all night,’ Cornell head coach Bryan Scales said. ‘Their attackers put tremendous pressure on our back four, and we, quite frankly, couldn’t find a way to handle it.’

Syracuse players and coaches have refused comment to The Daily Orange.

Junior Tony Matrone proved a huge threat to the Big Red (5-4-1, 2-0-1 Ivy League), finishing the game with three assists. Matrone also scored the Orangemen’s first goal of the game, which pointed momentum in SU’s favor.

‘After the first goal, that’s when we knew we had no idea how to contain them,’ Scales said. ‘It was exemplary of the rest of the game.’

Matrone’s goal came in the 16th minute after a Jeff Evans shot was deflected by a Cornell defender. The ball landed at Matrone’s feet, and he booted it into the left side of the net past the Cornell goalie David Mahoney.

Sophomore Illias Calaitzidis added another tally for the Orangemen (3-7-5, 0-4-4 Big East) just more than 20 minutes later after receiving a short pass from Evans five yards in front of the net. Matrone passed to a heavily defended Evans, who dropped it back to Calaitzidis waiting wide open in front of the net.

‘Once they play balls up to Johnson and some of those guys, they get it back, spin, and then they get you,’ Scales said. ‘We laid off them, and they were able to run at us with the ball.’

The Orangemen weren’t done yet. Only 43 seconds after the team’s second goal, Matrone added another assist by passing to freshman Rich Asante, who was waiting all alone at the top of the box. One Cornell defender tried to attack him, but Asante took his time and fired a shot into the left side of the net.

Syracuse was in control at the end of the first half, and it continued to pound the ball into the Cornell zone for the remainder of the game.

‘All their goals were either good finishes or point-blank shots,’ Cornell goalie Dave Mahoney said. ‘Our problems were a combination of us not running back to defend and me not telling the defense where they should be.’

The Orangemen’s fourth goal was the only goal that came off a cross. Matrone lofted the ball from about 20 yards out to senior Ari Schneider, who tapped a header past Mahoney.

‘(Schneider) was just wide open,’ Mahoney said. ‘He hit a good header back across me to the far post.’

The Orangemen – who were without the senior leadership of Chris Aloisi, who hasn’t played since he injured his head against Georgetown – were able to get it done on defense also, holding Cornell to only eight shots, compared to 14 taken by Syracuse.

‘Dealing with pressure on a fast surface like that is difficult,’ Scales said. ‘Our players can normally do it, but tonight was just one of those nights where things weren’t working.’

The Orangemen went with a goalie-by-committee format, starting Rich Scheer instead of sophomore Alim Karim. Junior Dave Rabazzi replaced Scheer with 22 minutes remaining, and with only four minutes left, he was replaced by junior Paul Mitchell.

The game wasn’t won in the net, though. It was won by the play of the Syracuse forwards and defenders who never let up after taking an early lead. The Orangemen took an early lead against Georgetown last Saturday, but ended up losing, 4-1. They didn’t let it happen again.

‘They gave us a good beating tonight,’ Scales said. ‘They deserved to win.’

Published on October 22, 2003 at 12:00 pm