Chris Nanco’s goal against St. John’s on Sept. 6 was a quintessential Chris Nanco goal.

In four seconds, Nanco went from trailing Red Storm defender Simon Tchoukriel by 5 yards to being two steps ahead of the defender and the ball at his feet after a pass from Emil Ekblom.

After Tchoukriel fell to the ground, Nanco slid a precise shot into the bottom-right corner of the net to give the Orange a 1-0 lead.

“I’ve always been the player running around the field, no matter what position,” said Nanco, an SU forward. “The speed runs in my family. All my brothers are fast. My sister’s fast … It’s been natural to me. ”

Nanco will look to utilize his quickness when the No. 9 Orange (9-1-0, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) takes on Albany (3-3-5, 1-0 America East) at SU Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Since he arrived at Syracuse last year, Nanco’s speed has been one of the most prevalent characteristics of any SU player.

With an assist on Ekblom’s game-winning goal to beat Virginia Tech on Saturday in double overtime, Nanco recorded his sixth point of the year, tied for second on the team, and his first since Sept. 16. Nanco flicked an Oyvind Alseth cross onto the head of Ekblom, who redirected it into the net to beat the Hokies in the 104th minute.

“As the game goes on, guys get tired, especially with the guys we have and the depth coming off the bench, I get to rest and come back with fresh legs,” Nanco said.

Nanco’s first goal of this season, which came in Syracuse’s season-opening victory over Niagara on Aug. 29, was similar to his tally against St. John’s.

With SU leading 1-0, Nanco entered the top left of the 18-yard box with a full head of steam and took two quick touches to get around Purple Eagles defender Roberto Fernandez-Andersson, and two more touches to set up a shot that beat goalkeeper Joel Gerberich.

“With Chris, it’s about having another gear,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “But it’s not just speed. It’s about taking a chance and knowing when to hit the channels … Chris has that ability to really make life difficult for opposing defenders.”

After both of his goals this season, Nanco has made a sprint toward the left corner of the field — a spot on the field Nanco says feels natural for him to create from. After the goal against St. John’s, Nanco ran to the left corner with his arms held wide like a jet plane and after the Niagara goal he busted out a Super Mario-like jump move.

“I try to get in certain spots and receive the ball. Mac always talks about getting into goal-scoring opportunities,” Nanco said. “I just try to get into the box because I know the ball is going to end up there somehow.”

Last season, Nanco burst onto the scene, scoring four goals in the team’s first 11 games including the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Duke. His chemistry with fellow freshman Alex Halis ignited the Orange in the early stages of the season. The duo started 17 of SU’s 18 games and combined for one-third of the team’s final goal total.

Although the spotlight has been on striker Emil Ekblom and freshman Julian Buescher so far this season, McIntyre said he expects more scoring from Nanco down the stretch.

And Nanco’s quietly on pace to exceed his statistics from last season. The forward has two goals and two assists through 10 games, and had four goals and one assist in 18 games last year.

“He’s creating a disturbance for the other team,” Ekblom said. “Sometimes they really don’t know how to handle it.”

Published on October 7, 2014 at 12:14 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu