PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The goals didn’t come quickly for the Syracuse offense Saturday.

The Orange didn’t play the run-and-gun style that had served so well this year.

And that was just fine.

The SU offense patiently and methodically picked apart the Rutgers defense, while the Knights’ offense, confined by the Orange’s midfield line, could only watch SU’s 17-9 win over the Scarlet Knights (4-5) Saturday at Yurcak Field in front of 2,305.

The win, which improves SU’s record to 10-1, puts the Orange in a strong position to run the table and secure a high seed in the NCAA tournament, which starts in three weeks.

Facing off against the zone defense, a scheme that Syracuse has seen little of all season, the Orange was forced to be patient. Throughout most of the game, the Orange worked the ball around the outside of the RU zone defense and waited for its openings.

‘That’s what the zone will do,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘It forces you to be more patient, and as a result I think they had to play more defense against our offense.’

With goalkeeper John Galloway struggling, making only four saves while giving up nine goals, the offense usurped the role of defense. By dominating time of possession, Syracuse’s offense – ranked fourth in the nation – eliminated any threat from the Rutgers attack.

‘If we had possession of the ball, we would have opportunities to score,’ RU head coach Jim Stagnitta said. ‘That was our thought going into the game, that we were capable of putting some points on the board against them. But the key was to be able to have the ball.’

The 17-goal total was the second highest of the year, behind only a season-opening 21-6 win over Villanova. Dan Hardy found the shooting touch that has eluded him most of the season, and netted a career-high four goals to lead the Orange. Mike Leveille scored three, while Kenny Nims and Greg Niewieroski added two apiece.

Syracuse set the tone of the game from the opening faceoff. After Danny Brennan won the draw, the SU offense milked 3:10 off the clock before Mike Leveille found Greg Niewieroski wide open for a goal.

‘We’ve just been trying to focus on valuing our possessions and waiting for our good opportunities,’ Leveille said. ‘I think that’s why we’re scoring so early.’

The win didn’t come without a few scares, though. Syracuse was out-played in the latter stages of the first quarter, and held just a one-goal advantage (3-2) going into the first break.

The Orange went on an 8-2 to run to cruise through most of the second and third quarters before the Scarlet Knights threatened again. Rutgers closed the gap to four, 13-9, with 6:54 left, but a four-goal spurt ensured the win for Syracuse.

Galloway took the blame for the close call late in the game, and credited his offense for bailing him out.

‘In the fourth quarter they kind of exploded a little bit, and it’s just me not seeing the ball, not saving the ball,’ Galloway said. ‘Offensively they carried us. They scored 17 goals. When you’ve got an offense doing that, you’ve got a little room to mess up, and that’s what happened today.’

When the Orange got in trouble, it fell back on its patience. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, after RU midfielder Justin Pennington cut the lead to five, Syracuse used another long possession to work through the Rutgers zone, before Hardy took a pass from Nims and launched a shot past RU goalie Bill Olin.

‘That was really a big one for us,’ Desko said. ‘We got a lot of zone work, the guys showed a lot of patience against it, and not only did we take time off the clock but we scored too.’

It was a relief win for Syracuse, a team that had plenty of reasons fall victim to a late-season upset. The Orange was playing in its third game in eight days, on an unfamiliar grass surface, with essentially one day of preparation. The Scarlet Knights had all week.

So it didn’t bother Hardy that the nettlesome Rutgers wouldn’t let Syracuse run away with a win, as it has so many times this year.

‘It just came down to us concentrating, playing our game, settling down a little bit, working the ball,’ Hardy said. ‘They came back a couple times, but we just had to hold it off.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on April 12, 2008 at 12:00 pm