Orange Hosts No. 23 Hartwick Wednesday Night
10/12/2004 1:34:41 PM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE, N.Y . - The Orange men's soccer team will play its third game of the season versus a ranked opponent when No. 23 Hartwick comes to the SU Soccer Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the SU women.
The game starts a stretch of four consecutive home outings for the Orange. It is also SU's final non-conference game of the season.
Syracuse is coming off a 1-0 double-overtime loss at 15th-ranked Notre Dame last Sunday. Junior goalkeeper Alim Karim made a season-best seven saves to move into eighth place on the Orange's career saves list. Karim now has 167 career stops.
Pat Gallagher had the best game of his SU career in the Orange's last home contest against Georgetown. Gallagher netted his second career goal and added an assist for a career-high three points. Alejandro Nuno also scored a goal for the Orange, his first career tally. Aric Johnson had an assist in his first collegiate appearance.
Despite battling an injured knee, junior Jeff Evans played in his 31st consecutive game for SU against Notre Dame. He played the final four games of his rookie season, all 17 games last season the first 10 of the 2004 campaign. Evans' streak is the longest of any current Orange player.
The Orange has played 12 straight games decided by one goal, including all 10 outings this season. The loss to the Fighting Iris was the second overtime game of the season for Syracuse. Since 1981, Syracuse is 25-34-47 (.458) when the game goes more than 90 minutes. In single-overtime games, the Orange is 22-28 (.440), while their double-overtime mark is 2-6-47. The longest game in school history was a 1-0 victory in four extra periods against Boston College in the 1982 BIG EAST championship game. Last season, the Orange played in seven games that went into extra time, including six double-overtime contests. Syracuse was 0-2-5 in those seven outings. SU is 0-4-7 in its last 11 overtime contests. The Orange’s last overtime victory came on October 5, 2002 in a 2-1 victory at West Virginia.
The Hawks enter Wednesday’s game with a 6-2-3 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the Atlantic Soccer Conference. Hartwick is 4-1-1 in its last six games, including a 1-0 win versus fourth-ranked Old Dominion. The team’s only loss in that stretch was a 4-1 defeat to 12th-ranked St. John’s. Hartwick defeated Philadelphia, 3-1, in its last outing on Saturday. Eldin Sijercic scored his first two goals of the season to lead the Hawks. Edwin Ruiz leads the Hawks with five goals, four assists and 14 points. Sijercic, Omar Gordon and Adam Mitchinson all have two goals. Josh Wagenaar has been the main goalkeeper, playing 1,066 of a possible 1,082 minutes. Wagenaar has 63 saves and a 0.93 goals against average to go along with four shutouts.
The Hawks lead the all-time series with the Orange, 15-10-3. The last six meetings have been split down the middle at 3-3-0. Hartwick won last year’s game with SU, 2-1, in Oneonta. Syracuse won the last matchup at the SU Soccer Stadium, 3-1, in 2002. The two teams have played every year since 1977. Hartwick was the Orange’s opponent in its only NCAA Tournament appearance in 1984.
