1984 NCAA Tournament Participants
“We’ve grown younger, but have gained experience over last year’s team. In 1983 we depended on inexperienced seniors. This year we have experienced sophomores and juniors” Shuttuck said at the time.
It didn't take long for the players on the 1984 team to turn their coach's “uncertain optimism” into certain optimism. The 1984 season turned out to be one of the best in the history of the program as the squad posted a 14-5-2 record and earned Syracuse's only birth in the NCAA Tournament.
For a coach looking for younger players to step up, he couldn’t have been more excited about the play of freshman Mark DiMonte. Originally a recruit was thought to compete for a spot in the back, DiMonte had other ideas. He put on an offensive show in 1984, setting a Syracuse freshmen record with 12 goals.
With the immediate impact of DiMonte, as well as keeper Rick Fatscher and midfielder Jim Garrant, the Orange left little doubt about the talent their team possessed.
| 1984 RESULTS: 14-5-2 | |||||||
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | ||||
| Sept. 8 | at Marist | W | 5-0 | ||||
| Sept. 11 | at Brockport | W | 6-1 | ||||
| Sept. 15 | ADELPHI | W | 2-0 | ||||
| Sept. 16 | ST. JOHN'S | W | 2-0 | ||||
| Sept. 21 | CONNECTICUT | W | 3-1 | ||||
| Sept. 23 | BOSTON COLLEGE | W | 3-0 | ||||
| Sept. 26 | CANISIUS | W | 16-1 | ||||
| Sept. 29 | at Providence | L | 2-4 | ||||
| Oct. 2 | at Hobart | W | 2-0 | ||||
| Oct. 5 | ARMY | W | 1-0 | ||||
| Oct. 7 | FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON | T | 0-0 (2OT) | ||||
| Oct. 10 | at St. Bonaventure | W | 2-1 | ||||
| Oct. 13 | HARTWICK | L | 0-2 (OT) | ||||
| Oct. 17 | at Colgate | W | 5-0 | ||||
| Oct. 20 | ONEONTA | W | 4-1 | ||||
| Oct. 23 | at Ithaca | W | 2-0 | ||||
| Oct. 27 | at Long Island | L | 0-4 | ||||
| Oct. 30 | at Cornell | T | 1-1 (2OT) | ||||
| Nov. 3 | at St. Francis (N.Y.) | W | 1-0 | ||||
| Nov. 9 | at Connecticut (BET) | L | 0-5 | ||||
| Nov. 17 | at Hartwick (NCAA) | L | 1-3 | ||||
| SEASON LEADERS | |||||||
| Goals: Mark DiMonte, 12 | |||||||
| Assists: Dino Pappas, 6 | |||||||
| Points: Mark DiMonte, 26 | |||||||
| Saves: Rick Fatscher, 137 | |||||||
Led by their lone senior and captain Homere Breton, Syracuse couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. On the road for its first two games, the Orange tallied 11 goals, posting 5-0 and 6-1 decisions against Marist and Brockport, respectively. Forward Dino Pappas led the way with nine points (3g, 3a) in the two games.
Follwing the two wins, Syracuse returned home for a daunting five-game stretch with consecutive BIG EAST matchups against St. Johns, Connecticut and Boston College. While a letdown may have been expected as stiffer competition came to town, the team didn’t waiver from its successful start.
The Orange started the homestand by shutting out Adelphi and St. John’s each by the score of 2-0. Forward Greg Kolodziey continued his hot start, scoring in the Adelphi game to make it three straight matches with a goal. Fatscher made 16 saves in the two games to earn his second and third shutouts of the year.
Then the matchup the Orange been waiting for had arrived when 1983 BIG EAST champion Connecticut came to town. The Huskies bested the Orange, 5-1, the previous year to win the championship. With revenge on its mind, the Syracuse side recorded a statement win, beating Connecticut, 3-1, and holding the Huskies to two shots on goal. Ken Vieira supplied the offense, scoring twice in the victory.
Two more wins, a 2-0 victory over Boston College and a record-setting 16-1 dismantling of Canisius College had Shattuck and his team off to the best start in the coach’s tenure at Syracuse: 7-0.
The winning streak ended the next outing against Providence, a 4-2 loss, but the resilient squad immediately rebounded by going unbeaten in its next four games. Wins against Hobart, Army and St. Bonaventure, along with a tie to Farleigh Dickinson, had Syracuse was 10-1-1 midway through the year.
Syracuse faced New York rivals in its next four games. A 2-0 lost to powerhouse Hartwick was followed by a run of three consecutive wins against Colgate, Oneonta and Ithaca. Syracuse scored a combined 11 goals in the three games and allowed only one. Kolodziey notched four goals in the stretch, including a hat trick against Oneonta. Vieira also chipped in, adding three goals and added two assists during the winning streak.
The final three games of the regular season came against against Long Island, Cornell and St. Francis, all on the road. The Orange came away with a 1-1-1 record, winning their final game against St. Francis, to finish the year 14-3-2 and cap off one the best regular seasons in Syracuse soccer history.
THE POSTSEASON
After gaining some momentum with a victory in its final regular-season game, Syracuse didn’t generat the postseason results it was expecting. In its opening match of the BIG EAST Tournament against UConn, the the Orange lost, 5-0. Despite the loss, the team's highly successful regular season earned the Orange an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the program's first invitation to the national tournament in school history.
SU matched up against upstate rival Hartwick in its opening game. Syracuse, however, had obstacles to overcome before the game even started. Yearlong starters Krister Johansson and Pappas were forced to watch the game from the stands as they were injured and unable to play. Then in the first half, Syracuse lost another player, defensemen Kevin Smith, to injury.
The game remained scoreless into the second half until David Magistrale finally broke through for Hartwick in the 48th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, DiMonte responded for the Orange, tying the game at 1-1. However, Magistrale and Hartwick, as well as the losses of three starters, proved to be too much to handle. Magistrale scored his second goal of the game five minutes after DiMonte's goal to reclaim the lead for Hartwick.
The Hawks added an insurance goal with less than 15 seconds remaining to seal the win.
The 3-1 loss brought about an abrupt and unexpected end to an incredible season.
During the course of the year, Syracuse achieved its highest national ranking in school history. The Orange was ranked sixth nationally on Oct. 9. The team finished the year ranked fourth overall in the New York Region.
