The Syracuse men’s soccer team’s chances of making the Big East Tournament took a huge hit Saturday night. SU lost, 1-0, to Cincinnati, which came into the game in last place in the Big East Red Division.

The missed opportunity to gain valuable points resulted in the Orange (7-5-3, 3-5-1 Big East) dropping to seventh in the division, one spot out of qualifying for the conference tournament and tied with Cincinnati for last place.

The lone senior on the Bearcats, Brad Simpson, headed a shot past keeper Rob Cavicchia for the only goal of the game in the 68th minute.

Syracuse registered one shot on goal the entire game. That shot came in the 83rd minute by forward Spencer Schomaker. On the other end, Cavicchia had to make five stops.

The Orange now travels to Villanova Wednesday to try and get back into the Big East tournament picture. The Wildcats sit in sixth place of the Red Division, one point ahead of the Orange.

Women’s soccer ends on sour note

The Syracuse women’s soccer team entered the weekend knowing it needed a pair of wins to make the Big East tournament. Instead, the Orange’s season ended with two more disappointing losses. Connecticut blanked SU, 2-0, Friday, and Providence edged the Orange, 3-2, Sunday.

It didn’t take much time for the Huskies to get on the board in the first game. Brittany Tegeler put a shot past SU goalkeeper Eliza Bennett-Hattan in the 12th minute to open the scoring. Kacey Richards tacked on another goal for UConn (6-8-5, 4-3-4 Big East) in the 63rd minute.

The Huskies fired nine shots on keeper Bennett-Hattan. Syracuse (5-11-2, 2-8-1 Big East) could only muster three shots on goal. Sunday, the Friars jumped on Syracuse in the third minute of the game when Kelly Petterson beat Bennett-Hattan. Syracuse responded when Meghan Bellingham beat the keeper from 30 yards out when her shot bounced off the crossbar.

Syracuse took its first lead of the weekend on Bellingham’s second goal of the game. The forward converted a shot from five yards out for her eighth goal of the season. Redshirt freshman Kaitlin Robbins notched her first career assist on the goal.

Providence (6-8-3, 1-7-3 Big East) evened the score at two when Taylor Bartini ricocheted Jill Camburn’s cross into the goal with fewer than seven minutes to play. Lindsey Trubia headed in the game-winner for Providence in the 88th minute.

Cross Country dominates in John Reif Memorial

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams left the John Reif Memorial Run at the Moakley Course at Cornell University with first-place finishes. The meet included Syracuse, Ithaca, Cornell, Cortland and various other schools.

Friday afternoon, Katie Hursey finished ahead of 54 competitors in the women’s 5K with a time of 18:44. Her freshman teammate, Natalie Busby, finished in second at 19:05. Liz McCarter and Lisa Giacometti rounded out the Top 10, placing seventh and ninth respectively.

The men followed suit with freshman Forrest Misenti winning the 5-mile race in 26:15. Fellow freshman Brady Becker finished 10 seconds later, good enough for third. In all, SU had five runners in the Top 10. Another freshman, Zach Rivers, came in seventh, as sophomore Erin Schirm crossed the line in ninth and Anthony Socoth finished 10th.

Friday, the Orange will run in the Big East championship in Van Cortlandt Park, N.Y.

Men’s Crew back in water

Syracuse was back in action for the first time in three months. The Orange entered six boats in the Princeton Chase in Princeton, N.J.

The varsity eight finished fifth out of 40 teams with a time of 13:27:08. The winner, Yale, finished fewer than 10 seconds ahead, 13:17:59. The second varsity eight finished 26th in the regatta, crossing the line at 14:12:14.

The varsity four completed the race in 15:07:54, good enough for third. The second varsity four didn’t finish far behind at 15:26:61. Yale again finished first with a time of 15:01:75. The third and fourth varsity fours finished 33rd and 39th respectively.

-Compiled by asst. sports editor Michael Bonner