Efficient set pieces boost No. 7 Syracuse past Pittsburgh 3-2
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Jeorgio Kocevski lined up one final first-half corner kick for Syracuse, looking to tie the score. The midfielder sent in a right-footed cross that Josh Belluz headed towards the net. Gavin Wigg stepped in and awkwardly used his chest to provide the finishing touch, knotting the game 2-2.
“A big goal in a big moment,” said head coach Ian McIntyre. “That goal right before halftime is probably the turning point in the game.”
Conversions off of set pieces were crucial in No. 7 Syracuse’s (4-1-3, 1-0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) 3-2 win over Pittsburgh (3-3-2, 1-1-1 ACC) on Friday night. After failing to execute on all seven corner kicks in a loss against No. 25 Cornell, the Orange connected on two against the Panthers to tie the game. Down by one goal less than five minutes in, Lorenzo Boselli’s header got the Orange square just six minutes later. Wigg’s first career goal capped off another perfect corner attempt as time winded down in the first half. Kocevski opened the second half with a go-ahead strike and SU fended off Pitt for the remainder of the contest.
Syracuse had the opportunity to draw first blood in the second minute. Gabriel Mikina dodged down the nearside and attempted a pass with too much pace to a driving Nicholas Kaloukian that went out for a Pitt goal kick. After the Panthers grabbed the early lead on a goal in the fourth minute, all eyes turned back to SU’s attack.
Like many times this season, the Orange offense delivered the equalizer almost instantly, this time on a set piece. Mateo Leveque dished a left-footed pass deep into the box during Syracuse’s first corner attempt of the match. Wigg stepped up and headed the ball right to Boselli near the right side, who tucked a precise header of his own inside the right post to tie the game at 1-1.
“I know that our guys can take knocks and get themselves off the mat and go again. We’ve shown that year a number of times,” McIntyre said.
More fluid ball movement from the Orange gave them numerous chances to snatch the lead in the first half. In the 23rd minute, Noah Singelmann sent a cross just behind Kaloukian and right to Nate Edwards, who whistled a shot barely over the bar. Kaloukian took the next shot moments later while one-on-one with a defender, but it scraped past the left post.
Leveque ran out of gas on a breakaway attempt in the 28th minute but kept the ball deep in Pitt’s defense zone, eventually earning SU’s second corner of the match. The UConn transfer took the attempt from the nearside end and had his pass deflected directly to Singelmann, who made excellent contact on a shot but missed top-right. A give-and-go between Kocevski and Edwards gave the Orange a third corner. Boselli smashed a promising header towards the right of the net but Pittsburgh defender Raphael Cilli stepped in to head the shot away.
Nifty moves down the wing from Felipe D’Agostini gave Syracuse one final shot to be ahead at halftime. On an ensuing corner, Kocevski found Belluz in the box, whose header deflected right off Wigg’s body and into the back of the net.
“I’ve been waiting on this one for a while. It was a good time to score it too, to get it back level. It was the best feeling I’ve had in college soccer,” Wigg said.
SU’s offensive execution on set pieces has been crucial to the team’s success early on. Wigg’s goal was the Orange’s second set-piece conversion of the night and sixth of the season.
“It’s repetition and practice. We practice them a lot during training to get the timing right, the service right. They’re huge chances for us, and I think we capitalized on them well,” Kocevski said.
Early in the second half, the Orange offense broke through once more. D’Agostini picked up where he left off, feeding a driving Michael Suski, who rocketed a shot past the right post in the 46th minute. Both substitutes, D’Agostini and Suski, seemed to be all over the field for SU, taking control of numerous loose balls.
In the 55th minute, Suski stepped in front of a poor Pittsburgh pass near midfield. The forward saw a cutting Kaloukian down the far side and delivered a pass. Kocevski darted into the box, received a pass from Kaloukian, and finished with a tap-in shot tucked inside the right of the net to give the Orange a 3-2 advantage.
A second yellow card issued to Pitt’s Michael Sullivan put Syracuse a man-up for the remaining 25 minutes. Panthers goalie Cabral Carter stepped up by making a ridiculous dive to his left, robbing Kaloukian of his second goal of the campaign. From there, two more Pittsburgh red cards gave the Orange offense more than enough space to keep possession for the remainder of the match.
“You really have to earn every point in this league. To get three points is a reward for a lot of hard work, and I think our guys deserved it tonight,” McIntyre said.
