First, the good news: The Syracuse men’s soccer team is rebounding from a season full of disappointments, missed opportunities and crushing defeats.

The bad news: It doesn’t matter.

With only one game left on the schedule, the Orangemen are mathematically eliminated from the Big East tournament.

After victories against Cornell and No. 22 Connecticut, the Orangemen will try to add another Big East win when they play Pittsburgh at1p.m. Sunday. Syracuse will be looking for its first road win of the season.

Syracuse players and coaches refused comment to The Daily Orange.

The Panthers (5-11-1, 2-6-1 Big East) come into the matchup losers of their past two games. The worst defeat came Wednesday at the hands of Virginia Tech, which beat Pitt, 6-0. The Orangemen fell to the Hokies in similar fashion, losing 5-1 on Oct. 5.

Syracuse (4-7-5, 1-4-4) will travel to Pittsburgh to face a Panther squad composed mostly of freshmen. Out of the team’s 26 players, 17 are freshmen. The Panthers also have five sophomores, three juniors and one senior.

‘It was one of those odd years,’ Pittsburgh head coach Joe Luxbacher said, ‘We lost 11 seniors and we had to restock.

‘The freshmen are holding their own. But we’ve been looking for some leadership in the upperclassmen. You can’t expect the freshmen to carry the whole team.’

Luxbacher found leadership in senior defender Clay Haflich. Haflich has started in 15 out of 16 Panther games this year and has scored two goals.

‘Clay Haflich has been a leader all season,’ Luxbacher said. ‘He’s the guy who has done more than his share.’

Sophomore Keeyan Young leads the Panthers with six goals and 14 points, nine points more than Brendon Smith, the Panthers’ second-leading scorer.

‘Being a year older doesn’t mean you’re better,’ Luxbacher said. ‘It’s what you do between the end of this season and next fall. We have a bright future.’

Both Syracuse and Pittsburgh must look to the future since both are out of the running for the Big East tournament. A win Sunday can only serve the purpose of personal pride for both teams.

SU head coach Dean Foti would most likely enjoy seeing freshmen Frank Bruno and Richard Asante play well, as they represent the future of SU soccer. This past week, Asante was named Big East Rookie of the Week after he scored his first goal of the season against Cornell.

‘I think Syracuse is a team that is a lot like us,’ Luxbacher said. ‘They have been in a position to win, and things haven’t gone their way.

‘Soccer is a funny game. You can play really well and still not win. And after watching some film, I think that’s what has been happening to Syracuse.’

Unfortunately for the Orangemen, their last-ditch efforts to save their season have come too late. The great play at the end of the season is overshadowed by its dismal Big East record and failure to win a game outside Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

This doesn’t ease Luxbacher’s nerves. He’ll still take the Orangemen seriously.

‘The fact that they haven’t won away from home doesn’t comfort me at all,’ Luxbacher said. ‘Once the whistle blows, the field is still the same size, the ball is still the same size and the width of the net remains the same. On Sunday, both teams will still want to win.’

Published on October 30, 2003 at 12:00 pm