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Syracuse entered its match with Canisius winless in its last four contests, a stretch that hasn’t occurred since 2020. On Tuesday night, the Golden Griffins served as a perfect opponent for the Orange to find their way again. And in just the third minute, they did.

After an early back-and-forth, Andre Cutler-DeJesus settled the ball up top for SU’s first offensive possession. Cutler-DeJesus dished down to Giona Leibold, who patrolled the left flank.

Leibold received and with no hesitation, sent a cross to the back post. Canisius midfielder Kodie Sarkodie was the only thing standing in the way of the ball and Gabe Threadgold, who crept toward the net.

The 6-foot-5 Sarkodie got a piece of the ball, but not enough, as it bounced to Threadgold, who stood alone with goalkeeper Jack Petrie. He pushed the ball to his right to create an angle and buried it short-side past Petrie to give the Orange an early advantage.

“You score an early goal, it settles you down,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said postgame.

The early tally boosted Syracuse (3-2-2, 0-1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 5-1 bludgeoning of Canisius (2-4-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). After only scoring one goal in their last four games, the Orange exploded for three in the first half. Cutler-DeJesus, Daniel Burko, Michael Gradus and Nathan Scott all notched their first career goals as well.

Eleven minutes after his first, Threadgold had a chance to grab his second goal of the night. With the ball being worked along the left flank, Threadgold sat on the right flank, waiting for his chance. Scott received the ball in the middle of the field, and one-touched it to Nicholas Kaloukian.

Threadgold bolted down the right flank, and Kaloukian put the ball on his right foot at the top of the goalie’s box. Threadgold fired short side, but Petrie was up to the challenge.

From the opening tap, Syracuse’s offense ran primarily through its back line. The Orange settled the ball up top to allow their playmakers to get open in the middle.

“We one, two touched, moved the ball, didn’t force it at times and just took our time on the ball,” Sam Layton said postgame.

In the 14th minute, a corner kick attempt from Elton Chifamba was cleared up top to Threadgold, who stayed back as support. Threadgold quickly distributed to Leibold, who wheeled toward the goal down the right side. Leibold sucked two Canisius defenders to him when he got to the top of the goalie’s box, and dished right to Chifamba, who was positioned near the goal line.

Chifamba lofted the ball toward the ball post and Cutler-DeJesus finished, leaping over the entire wall of Golden Griffins to head the ball in, past the onlooking Petrie.

“That second goal allowed us to breathe a little bit,” McIntyre said.

Threadgold continued to get involved throughout the game, with another prime opportunity in the 15th minute. Chifamba held the ball near the midfield line, and Threadgold broke. Chifamba fed a through ball to Threadgold, but he fired just wide.

Although Syracuse’s playmakers in the middle of the field looked toward the outside flanks for options, they could also create chances themselves.

Kaloukian received the ball at the top of the 18-yard box in the 17th minute. He had Michael Switala on his right shoulder and Glodie Mata bearing down his front side. Kaloukian danced through Mata and turned toward the goal, with his left shoulder fighting off Switala. Kaloukian fired but just missed the far post.

In the 38th minute, though, the same move paid off for Daniel Burko, who had the advantage over Riley Wagner. Wagner clung onto Burko’s right shoulder, but when Burko received the ball, he quickly spun off. He walked in and struck the ball into the bottom corner, missing the dive of Petrie and hitting the back of the net.

“(Burko) is a talented player that responded the right way,” McIntyre said. “He has worked extremely hard and took his opportunity.”

Throughout the night, Syracuse’s depth shined against the Golden Griffins.

In the 40th minute, Braedon Smith cut off a Canisius clear attempt near midfield and darted toward the middle. He found Carlos Zambrano, who immediately one-touched to Ezra Widman. Without looking, Widman flicked the ball behind him to Burko, but he shot just wide.

A minute later, Zambrano rushed the ball downfield and fed through to Burko, who had a one-on-one with Petrie. Burko shot toward the far side but just missed again.

McIntyre replaced starting goalkeeper Tomas Hut with Jason Smith to start the second half. Hut faced no shots in the first half, only corralling a corner-kick attempt. In the 50th minute, the Golden Griffins put their first shot on goal, where Smith gobbled it up.

Scott extended the Orange’s lead to 4-0 after finishing a Threadgold cross in the 54th minute. During the celebration, Canisius’ players on the field gathered around Petrie for an extended period. Two minutes later, Kevin Villacorta deposited a cross into the back of the net to put the Golden Griffins on the scoreboard.

Although the Orange conceded a goal, Canisius only mustered three shots the entire night.

“I think the boys did great today (defensively),” Layton said. “Apart from that 20-second little lapse in concentration.”

In the 83rd minute, McIntyre inserted Gradus into the game. Up until this point, the senior had played 23 total minutes with the Orange across his three-year career and hadn’t even recorded a shot.

Gradus didn’t let the chance go to waste, as he had multiple chances to score in the 88th minute. Gradus’ first shot was blocked in front by a Canisius defender, but he followed through and gathered the ball again. This time, he was tripped in the six-yard box, forcing a penalty kick.

McIntyre rolled with the captain to take the kick, and he buried it. Gradus slotted the ball to the opposite direction of where Petrie guessed, sending SU Soccer Stadium into a frenzy.

Gradus ran to the corner, where the entire Syracuse bench had gathered. Gradus plunged himself into the celebration, capping off a much-needed victory for the Orange.

“He’s one of our unsung heroes behind the scenes,” McIntyre said. “For him to win the penalty and score it, I’m delighted for him.”

Published on September 17, 2024 at 11:35 pm

Contact Nick: nsjepson@syr.edu