Potential wins have turned into losses with the Syracuse men’s soccer team’s inability to convert scoring opportunities into goals. It’s the reason why the team is 2-4 so far in 2011. Goals haven’t come easy.

Take Sunday’s game against then-No. 16 New Mexico. SU had a breakaway going between Dan Summers, Mark Brode and Nick Roydhouse. Summers sent it to Brode, who passed it to Roydhouse. But Roydhouse’s shot went over the goal.

‘If we put that in, that’s the difference between winning and losing,’ Roydhouse said. ‘It’s just a little tweak that’s going to win us games.’

Roydhouse’s high shot and the team’s struggles to put shots in the back of the net are a focus of the offense as SU (2-4, 0-0 Big East) prepares to open its conference season against Marquette (2-4-1, 0-0 Big East) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium.

In a lot of ways Syracuse and Marquette are similar. The Golden Eagles, like the Orange, have only scored more than one goal in a game twice this season. And both sides are coming off well-played weekend games, though their offenses still struggled.

Despite losing two games last weekend, Syracuse played quality soccer against Cal Poly and New Mexico. Marquette tied Michigan State and beat Michigan, a team that made the College Cup last year.

With both teams finding it difficult to score with any type of consistency, whichever side can squeak out two goals on Saturday could very well leave with a win. And for SU, it’s all about finishing off those scoring opportunities that it has been able to create.

‘We’re creating a lot of chances,’ Roydhouse said. ‘We have to be a little bit more composed in front of the goal. Often we try to force it a little bit and we have a lot more time than we think we do.’

Forward Louis Clark has experienced the Orange’s frustration to put goals on the board on a personal level. Of the 11 shots he’s taken this season, only one found the back of the net.

And his lone success was on a rebound.

At home against American on Sept. 11, Clark sent a strike toward the goal, saw it bounce off the Eagles goalkeeper and quickly shot again to score. It’s situations like those that SU will need to create if it hopes to beat Marquette and get off on the right foot in Big East play.

‘Sometimes you go a few games without scoring,’ Clark said. ‘You just have to have a bad memory, forget about it and next time you’re out there they should hit the back of the net.’

With the defense holding its own, Roydhouse knows the offense must do its job up front for the team to win games. And he’s trying. He leads SU with five points and two goals, with the team’s result often depending on his play alone.

To SU head coach Ian McIntyre, Roydhouse’s energy and enthusiasm on the field also help keep the offense rolling. His demeanor will give the Orange multiple chances to score against a Marquette team that hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game this season, McIntyre said.

‘We know we’re going to have our hands full,’ McIntyre said. ‘(Roydhouse) is an important part of what we do, and scoring goals and creating scoring opportunities, that’s what he’s out there for.’

Against Cal Poly last weekend, Roydhouse nearly let another scoring opportunity get away from him. Down 2-0, he shot the ball and it bounced off the goalkeeper. But like Clark in the American game, he pursued his own rebound and scored.

The games against Cal Poly and New Mexico proved Syracuse is capable of generating offensive firepower. It just has to convert those scoring opportunities. And after those games, Roydhouse knows the team can score more the question is when.

‘What it really did was it gave the team a sense of belief of how good we actually were,’ Roydhouse said. ‘Now we know we can play with the best teams in the country and going into the Big East, we’re really confident.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu