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In its first two games, Syracuse didn’t concede a goal. An 88th-minute goal in the season opener against Colgate led the Orange to a 1-0 victory. Three days later, an offensive surge led SU to a 3-0 win over Niagara.

Nearly 200 minutes into SU’s season, Charlotte became its first opponent to find the back of the net. Andreas Evangelou fired a shot that Syracuse goalkeeper Tomas Hut knocked forward, and Filip Jauk was first to it to tie the game at 1-1 in the 12th minute.

SU head coach Ian McIntyre knew the 2023 American Athletic Conference Champions presented a challenge. A Charlotte goal late in the first half lifted the 49ers ahead 2-1, putting Syracuse down for the first time all season.

Turning to a more physical approach, No. 7 Syracuse (2-0-1, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) held Charlotte (1-0-1, 0-0-0 American Athletic Conference) to just one shot in the second half and came back to secure a 2-2 tie. Sam Layton and Andre Cutler-DeJesus commanded SU’s backline to stay impenetrable in the final 45 minutes as the 49ers failed to register a shot on goal.

In the 44th minute, the ball skidded past Ben Rosenblatt toward the top of the 18-yard box and Jaedon Richardson struck it over Hut for a 2-1 Charlotte advantage.

“There were times in the first half where we were second best physically,” McIntyre said postgame.

After halftime, the Orange limited the 49ers’ looks by controlling possession for the first 10 minutes. When Charlotte did take the ball, it wasn’t for long. In the 51st minute, Charlotte’s Ian Pilcher played the ball up into SU’s half, but Chimere Omeze raced the ball down and shielded it with his body from Grant Stewart.

A minute later, Chadi Mayati found some open space just outside of SU’s 18-yard box, but the Orange dropped eight defenders back. Mayati was left with little passing options and he gave the ball right back to Syracuse.

Through 20 minutes of second-half play, Charlotte had not recorded a shot. Looking for an answer, in the 68th minute the 49ers substituted in the 6-foot-5 Jauk.

At the forward position, Jauk presented a challenge with his size, but the Orange rose to the task. In the 73rd minute, the 49ers worked the ball up the left sideline into SU territory, but before Charlotte could pass up to Jauk, Kelvin Da Costa stole it away to lead Syracuse the other way.

The 49ers made one of their strongest pushes in the 75th minute with a long through-ball to the 18-yard box. The pass created a two-on-one Charlotte advantage before SU’s Braedon Smith sprinted from midfield and erased the chance.

After Kristjan Fortier’s score knotted the game at 2-2, Syracuse ensured Charlotte would not retake the lead. In the 82nd minute, 49ers’ Chris Dommer made a run into SU’s half with an attacking chance and Layton stepped in to stop it.

“(Physicality) is something that we like as defenders, going one on one, that physicality, it’s something I enjoy and (Layton) and (Omeze) enjoy as well,” Cutler-DeJesus said. “It’s something you’re definitely prepared for (and) we train for, so happy to execute that in the second half.”

In the last 10 minutes of regulation, Charlotte put an increased emphasis on working the ball up to Jauk. Each time he got the ball, SU defenders worked through his large frame to steal possession away.

Syracuse formed a wall defensively, which resulted in Jauk’s frustration, and he received a yellow card in the 84th minute. The Orange thwarted the ball out of their half over the last five minutes, a stretch of play that Cutler-DeJesus said has been a focus this season.

The 49ers recorded their lone shot of the second half in the 90th minute, a ball that sailed high. After allowing a season-high eight shots in the first half, SU made a complete 180.

“The easy thing for us would have been to kind of roll over and say, ‘It’s not our day,’ because (Charlotte) is big and physical and it’s hard work,” McIntyre said. “We didn’t. This came from the guys on the field, our bench was awesome. We’ve got something good going on in our locker room.”

Published on August 30, 2024 at 1:17 am

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32