West Virginia turns away tenacious SU attack to earn scoreless, overtime tie

The Syracuse men’s soccer team’s performance Friday night followed the same pattern it has all year – play great but fail to score.

The Orangemen couldn’t capitalize on dominating possession, putting only 3 of 12 shots on goal during regulation in their 0-0 tie with West Virginia. Syracuse also failed to capitalize on the only two corners it had in the game.

‘Although it looked like they had it in our half a lot,’ West Virginia defender Kevan Ford said, ‘they really weren’t getting much out of it.’

The Orangemen will have to play great – plus score – if they hope to beat No. 25 Rutgers tonight at 7 in Piscataway, N.J.

West Virginia (4-6-2, 1-3-2 Big East) did not have much going for it offensively, either, taking only six shots in the first two periods compared to Syracuse’s 12.



The Mountaineers felt their power during regulation rested in their ability to defend rather than pressure the Orangemen offensively.

‘Our work ethic is to get behind the ball and let them come to us,’ Ford said. ‘As soon as we come across the half-way line, we step up and press them hoping they give us the ball.’

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

Time after time, Syracuse (2-6-4, 0-3-3) would get the ball as close as five yards from the goal and somehow fail to put the ball in the net.

‘Your heart’s in your mouth when the ball in bouncing around in the box,’ Ford said. ‘But as long as we fight for every ball, I had every bit of confidence that our players would do all right.’

After 15 minutes passed in the second half, senior Kirk Johnson fed a beautiful pass to Ilias Calaitzidis, who waited five yards in front of an open net. Before he could get the shot off, a WVU defender caught up with Calaitzidis, forcing him to kick the ball inches outside the left post.

‘If you look at the way the best teams play,’ WVU head coach Mike Seabolt said, ‘they’re not really afraid of defending the penalty area. As long as you’ve got good marks in there and you’ve got good cover, there’s nothing to panic about when someone is close to your goal.

‘What I look at is quality chances; real chances where you have a real chance to fire the ball. The rest are what I call half chances, not real chances. If you’re good defensively, you’re going to be all right in those situations.’

West Virginia didn’t panic, stopping a Syracuse offense that kept the ball on the West Virginia end of the field for most of the game.

‘All their forwards did a good job taking the ball at us,’ Seabolt said. ‘They put us under pressure and forced us to defend.’

When SU faces the Scarlet Knights (8-3-1, 4-1-1) tonight, Syracuse will face a team coming off a stunning four-goal first half in their 5-2 upset over No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday. The matchup will be particularly difficult for the Orangemen, since they’ve lost four games away from home this season.

‘In the end, the difference is playing at home and on the road,’ Seabolt said. ‘On the road, you play for a tie and you hope for the best. You gotta take care of business to win the game.’





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