Ian McIntyre sat alone at the end of the bench. There was still 15 minutes left to play in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Rutgers, but the deflated coach abandoned his usual post, standing a few yards to the left of midfield for the solace of the covered bench.

 

So there he sat.

 

McIntyre, the Syracuse men’s soccer coach, had just watched his team surrender three goals to the worst team in the Big East. An SU defense that kept the team in numerous games while the offense struggled had just broken down on three separate occasions. His offense, which has struggled to score all season, repeatedly created and then botched all its chances.

 

‘I was tired, I think emotionally and physically,’ McIntyre said.

 

The back four was unable to stay on its men, letting the Rutgers offense slip into the middle almost uncontested. Although the Syracuse (2-8-5, 0-4-3 Big East) defense allowed Rutgers (4-9-1, 1-6-0 Big East) to muster only eight shots, more than one-third of them found the back of the net.

 

Despite having a consistently solid defense, McIntyre said he decided to switch things up in search of an offensive spark. He moved senior outside back Justin Arena up to midfield, putting Nick Bibbs, who played defensive midfielder for most of the season, into Arena’s spot.

 

‘Nick Bibbs is a good defender,’ Arena said. ‘And if I’m going to play up top in a wide position, someone like Nick Bibbs is perfect back there. He’s a good defender, he’s fast, he’s good with his feet.’

 

But McIntyre’s decision resulted in the first goal.

 

Bibbs matched up on the right side of the field with Rutgers midfielder Nate Bourdeau. Bibbs said he was not marking Bourdeau tightly enough. So when Bourdeau got possession down the sideline, Bibbs’ tackle did not come off cleanly. The ball deflected off Bourdeau to Rutgers’ Yannick Salmon, who was waiting in the middle of the field. Salmon’s shot went into the upper corner of the goal, nowhere near SU keeper Jeremy Vuolo.

 

Minutes later, Arena was back on defense.

 

‘I don’t think it was working as well as I was hoping it would,’ McIntyre said. ‘It looked good on paper.’

 

But even with the back four intact, the defense was still not able to find a rhythm. The second and third goals both came on additional defensive errors. Bourdeau, yet again, caused trouble down the line, getting inside on defender Robbie Hughes and knocking the ball into the middle. The player waiting there was not being covered and tipped the ball in easily.

 

And the final goal was simply a matter of not marking. Salmon was unmarked in the middle of the box and headed the ball unchallenged into the goal.

 

‘The second goal — I don’t know how their striker was so open to get the toe poke into the corner,’ Bibbs said. ‘Well, he came across one of our center backs. That can’t happen. … We’ve got to be tight on our marks. The third goal was just — you need to have the courage or something to win the ball in the air. He had a free header and just banged it right into the corner. Those types of goals can’t happen.’

 

The offense provided little support. Although its attacks came close every time, no one was able to finish. Seven corner kicks and a few good crosses left the ball in the center of the Rutgers box, but Syracuse could not settle the ball. The team had 19 shots to Rutgers’ eight and still lost 3-0.

 

With conference play coming to a close, a win Saturday would have put the Orange in a good position to clinch one of the two remaining Big East tournament spots. A loss, however, means it is clinging to sixth place. With two games remaining this season, the team will need to win both to guarantee a postseason berth. On Wednesday, Syracuse will face No. 2 Louisville, which is undefeated in the Big East.

 

So with only a few days, after a loss to the Big East’s worst team, to prepare to play the conference’s best team, Bibbs said SU has a lot to work on in practice.

 

‘We need to work on finishing more,’ Bibbs said. ‘And I think individual defending we’ll work on a lot this week before Louisville comes in.’

 

alguggen@syr.edu