Ian McIntyre gathered his troops after Syracuse’s crushing 3-2 overtime loss to South Florida last weekend. The SU head coach told them that, at times, they don’t fully appreciate the positive moments. Games like Saturday, he said, will make the team stronger.

‘As difficult as it is,’ McIntyre said, ‘no team has ever succeeded, has ever got there, without failing. Because without that, ultimately you don’t appreciate those good times.’

SU has found itself on the losing end of seven of its last eight games, so McIntyre’s words of advice to his team provide a lesson that the Orange (2-9-1, 0-4-1 Big East) must keep in mind during its final four games of the season. And it starts at Rutgers (7-5-1, 4-1-0 Big East) on Wednesday at 7 p.m., in a game that provides SU with another opportunity to start fast and finish with a win this time.

McIntyre’s refusal to look at the USF game as just another loss provides motivation for the Orange as it looks to build off encouraging performances in three straight games against ranked teams. Even though SU tied one match and lost the other two, blowing a two-goal lead against South Florida, McIntyre said it’s part of a process toward success.

‘We take a tremendous amount (from the USF game),’ McIntyre said. ‘It can be a cruel game as it was on Saturday night. It’s in the past now and we move on to the next one.’

Following three straight games against ranked opponents, SU finally faces an unranked opponent, though the Scarlet Knights are second in the Big East’s Red Division. And to beat RU, the Orange must find a way to close out games, something it was unable to do against USF.

SU must remember its first-half performance against USF, when it took a 2-0 lead going into halftime. Forward Louis Clark doubled his goal production against the Bulls with those two first-half goals.

His first came off a corner kick, as he sent a strike in the goal off the assist from midfielder Nick Roydhouse. Just nine minutes later, Clark took a pass from midfielder Ted Cribley and tapped the ball in the goal for the 2-0 advantage. But it wouldn’t last, and USF’s three straight goals prevented the Orange from closing out the game.

‘We’ve just got to get everybody’s head back into the game,’ Roydhouse said. ‘I feel like we maybe lost it a little bit toward the end. But that’s going to happen when you’re down.’

The Orange defense doesn’t need to look any further than the Louisville game for inspiration following its three-goal letdown. The Orange held the then-No. 11 Cardinals scoreless through all 110 minutes of the double-overtime scoreless tie.

With 3,587 fans cheering against the Orange at Louisville, the players didn’t let the atmosphere affect their play.

‘I was really happy with our performance on the road going to Louisville,’ defender Ryan Tessler said. ‘We weren’t going to let them score no matter what the outcome was.’

Playing on the road presents different challenges from home games, McIntyre said, and his team is prepared to ignore the distractions and keep its focus on the task at hand come game time — an experienced, athletic Rutgers squad.

The Scarlet Knights have an advantage over the younger players on SU, but McIntyre believes his team is closer to being good than what the losses in the standings say. The team will focus on the positive parts of the USF game when it faces Rutgers. And this time, he said, SU will be sure not to blow any leads if it’s lucky enough to be in that position again.

‘We’ll be looking to show the same intensity that we showed against USF,’ McIntyre said. ‘If we keep playing well, we’ll get chances. And if we’re fortunate enough to be up, it’s just playing every play and ensuring that we finish the job.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on October 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu