A lot can change in two weeks. Just ask the Syracuse men’s soccer team.

The Orangemen left the comfortable Syracuse Soccer Stadium with a 2-2-2 record after defeating Colgate, 2-0, on Sept. 17. Since then, the Orangemen have dropped three straight road games to ranked opponents, St. John’s (then No. 9), Hartwick (20) and Boston College (25).

The Orangemen (2-5-2, 0-2-1 Big East) hope a change in venue will halt their losing streak when they return back home to Syracuse Soccer Stadium to play No. 8 Notre Dame tonight at 7.

And it won’t be easy, considering the Fighting Irish (6-1-2, 2-1-0) come in riding a four-game winning streak. Still, there’s reason for optimism. Notre Dame will play its first road game in 32 days tonight, while SU is 2-0-1 and has not allowed a goal at home.

The coaches and players have declined comment to The Daily Orange.

‘You obviously would like to play at home rather than on the road,’ Foti said after a 1-0 loss at Loyola on Aug. 30. ‘We need to play with a little bit more energy when we’re playing on the road.’

Luckily for the Orangemen, they won’t have to worry about that for the next two weeks. They play two more home games against Virginia Tech and West Virginia following tonight’s contest.

Still, Notre Dame should provide SU with plenty of worries. The Fighting Irish boast two players who have received Big East recognition for their recent play. Senior forward Justin Detter and senior defender Kevin Richards were named the co-offensive player and defensive player of the week, respectively, in the Big East.

Detter leads Notre Dame with 35 shots on goal, but ranks second in points with eight (three goals, two assists). That honor of top scorer goes to senior forward Devon Prescod, who has scored five goals while starting just three games.

Meanwhile, the SU defense has gotten burned for seven goals in the last three games. Senior defender Chris Fehrle, who missed four games for reasons Foti has not commented on, may rejoin the team as early as tonight and provide more depth for the defense.

But SU’s largest problem remains in its execution in the final third of the field, Foti said last week. The Orangemen have scored eight goals in its nine games this season.

‘A goal changes the whole complexion of the game,’ Foti said after a 2-1 loss to Hartwick on Sept. 24. ‘If you’re playing poorly, a goal can turn that around, and then you might start playing great. It’s the ebb and flow of the game.’

Though the current is not going in SU’s direction right now, wait two weeks. As SU has found out, it’s enough time to turn a season around completely.

Published on October 1, 2003 at 12:00 pm