Men’s Soccer Drops 2-0 Decision to Syracuse
ALBANY, N.Y..- University at Albany men’s soccer (3-9-3, 1-2-1 AE) fell 2-0 to in-state rival Syracuse (9-5-1) on Tuesday night at Bob Ford Field.
“I thought we were good in the first half,” said head coach Trevor Gorman.” “We did a lot of good things. In the second half they lifted themselves to another gear. We have to be able to focus on playing a full 90 minutes at the same level of mental focus as we did in the first 45 minutes.”
UAlbany registered the first shot of the game, and took an early 5-1 shot and 3-1 corner kick advantage. Phil Denara nearly connected with Luke Palmateer on a corner, but the service was just over Palmateer’s head at the six-yard box.
Palmateer got another chance on a corner kick rebound from Philip Persson. The freshman fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the net, but Syracuse’s Alex Bono made the diving save.
Syracuse charged back late in the first half, but freshman goalkeeper Eric Orologio held his line to close the period. Orologio swatted away several dangerous corners by the Orange to preserve the 0-0 tie entering halftime.
The Orange scored their two goals 10 minutes apart with five minutes gone in the second half.
UAlbany’s Orologio continued to turn away Syracuse shots early in the second half, punching away another corner with 35 minutes left in regulation. Pomare Te Anau nearly narrowed the Great Danes deficit with 13 minutes to go, but the goal was called back on an offsides call.
Kit Alexieff took the ball down the left side with 10 minutes remaining and fired a shot on goal, but Bono collected the attempt to make the save.
UAlbany continues its homestand against America East foe New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The Great Danes will also welcome back their alumni for the contest against the Wildcats.
