Watching from afar as Ben Polk and Julian Buescher pulled off a crafty give-and-go, Liam Callahan trotted toward the far post of UC Riverside’s net. A pass from Polk found Callahan’s feet, and he struggled to comprehend what happened after.

Callahan, a junior, placed a shot past the dive of goalkeeper Ashkan Khosravi into the right corner of the net for his first collegiate goal.

“It took me a couple seconds to even realize I scored,” Callahan said holding back a smile. “Unfortunately it took me three years.”

The goal caught Callahan so off guard that his planned celebration with Buescher didn’t cross his mind as he instead clenched his fists and let out a scream.

It was one of four celebrations for SU (2-1) on Friday as SU took down UC Riverside (1-2) 4-1 at SU Soccer Stadium. All four goals came from various parts of the Orange’s offense as midfielder Korab Syla, forward Oyvind Alseth and forward Noah Rhynhart all followed the opening goal from the defensive midfielder Callahan.

Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre referred to the match as a potential “banana peel” for his team — a game his players could’ve easily slipped up on. The four-goal outburst was a change of pace for his team that hadn’t scored more than twice through three exhibition games and two regular season games.

“If you’ve got a guy who can bang in a 15-20 (yard) goal that’s beautiful,” McIntyre said. “If not … you hope you share it around.

“We created some good chances today and we took some of those chances.”

The Orange was assertive on offense early, outshooting UC Riverside 10-3 in the opening 45 minutes. But a common trend was emerging as Syracuse once again outshot its opponent but failed to capitalize on all but one opportunity.

In the closing minutes of the first half, Syla sailed a ball over the heads of a leaping Polk and Rhynhart and to the feet of Callahan again, who misfired on SU’s final chance of the first half.

Syla took the initiative himself nearly three minutes into the second half, though, and the senior midfielder notched his first career goal as his shot tipped off the hands of the leaping goalkeeper to reach the back of the net.

“Knowing that you have different types of players that can come from every single position is always a good sign,” Alseth said. “Not having to depend on one player is always an advantage.”

SU relied heavily on their midfielders to keep the ball on the outsides of the field to create space, and Callahan said games turn into “catastrophes” when Syracuse strays from its strategy.

After Callahan and Syla — two midfielders — gave SU its biggest lead of the season, Alseth converted on a through ball from Syla he said he wasn’t confident he could get a shot off on.

With UC Riverside’s James Alewine III bearing down on him, the junior forward came to a quick stop as Alewine blew by him, fell to the ground, and shot on a nearly wide-open net.

“Everything is seeming to flow more easily in the attacking third,” Alseth said. “We’re starting to get our formation now”

With five minutes remaining and a 3-1 lead, Polk found Rhynhart in front of the net. Fittingly on the day when SU best showcased its offensive versatility, the fourth-year backup forward scored his second goal of the season — a new career high.

“It’s not just one guy, it’s everyone contributing,” Callahan said. “We want the midfielders to score, we want the forwards to score and we want the defenders to score.

“Having that as a whole, it helps the team be complete.”

Published on September 4, 2015 at 6:49 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman