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Lorenzo Boselli had possession in Syracuse’s offensive half in the fifth minute, dishing it out wide right to Amferny Sinclair, who advanced forward from the defensive midfield to get involved in the attack.

Sinclair played a low-driven cross for forward Nathan Opoku near the penalty box, who easily put away his sixth goal of the season.

The goal marked SU’s second in a span of three minutes, which would be more than enough to create a comfortable cushion to defeat Loyola Maryland (4-4-4, 2-1-2 Patriot League) 6-1. Five different Syracuse (10-2-1, 4-1-0 Atlantic Coast) players scored a goal and seven recorded an assist. The Orange clinched their first 10-win season since 2016 and have won three of their last four matches.

It took less than three minutes for Syracuse to get on the scoreboard. The play developed from the back starting with Olu Oyegunle, who dribbed up the left side before playing it to Giona Leibold. After a quick combination of passes between Leibold, Opoku and Boselli, the ball made its way back wide to Leibold, who crossed it in front of goal.

“It was good (because) we’ve been struggling a little bit for midweek games, against Cornell we lost last week,” Boselli said. “These are the easiest games where you can get distracted.”

Loyola goalkeeper Konstantinos Parisis dove for the ball, slightly deflecting it, but the ball continued toward a wide-open Levonte Johnson. Similarly to its game against Cornell, Syracuse often played the left side to Leibold, who constantly drove against the Greyhound right back to create opportunities. Against Loyola, the Orange also facilitated their play through the midfield, using Boselli and Jeorgio Kocevski to get the ball into the attack or out wide.

In the 11th minute, defensive midfielder Noah Singelmann sprinted from the right side of the field into the box. He played a simple square ball to Boselli, who launched a curling shot that went just over the crossbar. And in the 21st minute, the duo connected again on a quick give-and-go.

Boselli found Singelmann on the right side and continued his run, which allowed Singelmann to play the ball into space. The cross back was blocked though. Still, Syracuse consistently broke down the Greyhound defense, eventually developing a 3-0 halftime lead.

“We always try to start as good as we can and finish the halves as good as we can,” Boselli said. “And I think this time we got it 100% right, scoring two goals in four minutes. That kind of set the whole tone for the game.”

And similar to their win over Wake Forest, the Orange continued pressuring high up the field. On one play, the ball trickled back to Parisis, but Opoku pressured and almost caused an open-net goal.

There were 31 minutes in between SU’s second and third goal, which allowed Loyola to develop a couple chances of its own. On Loyola’s first major opportunity, midfielder Richie Nichols sent an over-the-top through ball with the outside of his foot to Daniel Tshiani. But Tshiani dribbled a little too much, taking away a meaningful shot, which Loyola had 14 of on the night.

The through ball is what eventually cost the Orange another shutout. After a slipped pass found the feet of Loc San, the forward took a touch with his left foot around goalkeeper Russell Shealy. Shealy clipped him, taking him down in the box, resulting in a penalty kick and a yellow card. Kelan Swales drove the ball into the lower left of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 57th minute.

Shealy still had to be active in the evening, amassing five saves, including a foot save from near the penalty box and a couple catch saves from good looks for the Greyhounds. Shealy wasn’t perfect though, bobbling a free kick that almost resulted in another Loyola goal, but Buster Sjoberg cleared the ball off the end line with his head.

“I think we kind of relaxed too much, end of the first half and the beginning of the second, but it’s part of the game,” Boselli said.

The Orange struggled to get its fourth goal for a while, but after returning five starters to the game, Syracuse picked up where it left off in the first half, adding three more goals in 12 minutes.

In the 69th minute, Boselli, in the midfield, found a cutting Leibold for a through ball. Leibold took a simple touch with his right foot, setting himself up for a shot in the box, which he placed carefully into the right side of the net past goalkeeper Thomas Zinngrebe, who made zero saves in 45 minutes of play.

All season, Syracuse hasn’t converted on a set piece. But on a Curt Calov corner kick in the 77th minute, Opoku got his head on it to score his seventh goal of the season. And to cap it all off, Calov sent a cross from the right side in the 81st minute, finding the head of Camden Holbrook. Holbrook strategically placed his header into the run of Francesco Pagano, who easily scored to complete the Orange’s six-goal performance.

Published on October 10, 2022 at 10:06 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini