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Michael Suski found himself in space with no defender stepping toward him. Flanked by Mateo Leveque and Nicholas Kaloukian, Suski dished it to Kaloukian out wide. The strike took two touches inside and shifted the ball onto his right foot. Kaloukian’s cross was deflected up into the air, but still found its target.

Jeorgio Kocevski had made a late run into the box, getting in front of Pittsburgh defender Mateo Maillefaud. Kocevski leaped up into the air and stuck his right leg out. He made contact with the outside of his foot, directing the ball past Cabral Carter in net in the 56th minute to give Syracuse a 3-2 lead.

“We talked to Jeorgio this week and I felt that late runs from him and Matteo would get them chances,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. “He’s been close, but hopefully this is the first of many.”

After its first loss in 350 days against Cornell, No. 7 Syracuse (4-1-3, 1-0-2, Atlantic Coast Conference) responded by defeating Pittsburgh (3-3-2, 1-1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 3- for its first ACC victory of the season. Kocevski’s goal was the difference as the Orange had to dig deep against a talented Pitt attack. The Orange fell behind twice in the first half but responded each time. Syracuse navigated a high defensive line from the Panthers by playing direct in the second half, using over the top balls to get in behind.

Syracuse is used to teams sitting back in a low defensive block. Instead, Pittsburgh implemented a high defensive line, pushing its line up to the halfway line when Syracuse possessed the ball deep in its defensive third. The Orange had a tough time getting in behind throughout the first half, but in the second half, they started to break down Pittsburgh’s defense more often.

“We take every game the same way,” Syracuse defender Gavin Wigg said. “We want to play our style and not have to switch to our opponents playing style.”

The Orange countered Pitts’ high defensive line by pressing it as much as possible when it had the ball. SU’s forwards along with midfielders like Kocevski and Leveque man marked each Pitt player, looking to force a turnover. It was a high risk, high reward for Syracuse. If Pitt beat the press, it got in behind the Orange.

“Trying to disrupt the way that they play takes so much energy and it was end to end for 90 minutes,” McIntyre said.

The Panthers wasted no time punishing Syracuse’s press. In the fifth minute, Abdoulaye Toure played behind down the left side with green grass in front of him. Gabriel Mikina tracked back to get in front of Toure, but the attacker shifted inside, finding Albert Thorson on the opposite side. Thorson paused, giving the ball back to Toure who continued his run into the box. Toure was unmarked in the middle and put Pitt up 1-0.

“We know in order to try to press them that we’re going to stretch ourselves at times,” McIntyre said. “The reward is if you can turn them over in those areas you can start playing. (Pitt) on the other hand are trying to reduce the space by playing a high line as well.”

Syracuse answered back seven minutes later off a corner. Wigg met a header at the back post and Lorenzo Boselli scored his fifth header of the season to level the match.

In the 15th minute, Pitt nearly punished the Orange again. A long searching ball up the middle split the Syracuse center backs for Thorson. Slowed down by Wigg, Thorson dished it off to Luis Sahmkow who ripped a shot which was tipped over by Jason Smith.

Sahmkow didn’t waste his second chance. In the 28th minute, Mateo Maillefaud turned away from Noah Singelmann on the left side, passing off to Sahmkow at the top of the box. Singelmann couldn’t close out Sahmkow in time as he unleashed a rocket to the far post, restoring Pitt’s lead. Sahmkow’s goal was his sixth in six games to lead the Panthers in scoring.

“They’re so good on the ball and (Vidovich’s) teams stay true to that,” McIntyre said. “They keep playing and so when they break the press there are chances to get in and it’s then about covering yards for midfield players to get back and support.”

Like they did earlier in the first half, the Orange answered back, once again on a corner kick with under a minute left in the first half. This time it was Wigg getting on the end of a flicked header from Josh Belluz for his first collegiate goal.

Throughout the second half, McIntyre felt his team controlled the pace better. Felipe D’Agostini and Suski both provided sparks off the bench. In the 50th minute. Leveque curled a ball in behind Pitt’s high line and D’Agostini was the first to it. At the edge of the 18, D’Agostini leaned back a little too much, sending his effort over the bar.

“It ended up like watching you play a game of FIFA,” McIntyre said. “It was end to end stuff and absolute chaos for long stretches of the game.”

After Syracuse took the lead, Pittsburgh’s Michael Sullivan was sent off for a second yellow card in the 66th minute. In the 85th and 87th minute, the Panthers received two more reds — one to an assistant and the other to Raphael Cilli.

Despite being down a man, the Panthers possessed the ball through Sahmkow’s holdup play. Filip Mirkovic was key helping link Pitt’s ball movement from front to back. McIntyre called him one of the best midfielders in the country.

The Panthers couldn’t find an opening late on while Kaloukian nearly put the cherry on top for the Orange. With Pitt pouring as many people forward as possible in the final minute, Kaloukian sat at midfield waiting. A clearance from Syracuse forced Carter out of net. Kaloukian got to the ball first, heading it into the air and bringing it back down. With an open goal to aim at from about 35 yards out, Kaloukian fired and hit the post.

The miss didn’t matter in the end. Unlike against Wake Forest and Louisville, Syracuse didn’t concede a late equalizer.

“I know that our guys can take knocks and get themselves off the mat and go again,” McIntyre said. “We’ve shown this this year a number of times. What I’m very proud of today is that we got over the line.”

Published on September 22, 2023 at 11:57 pm

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