Juuso Pasanen lay on the wet grass at SU Soccer Stadium, staring at the blackened sky and into the falling rain. When he limped off the field Tuesday against Hartford, he pulled his jersey over his head. Earlier, he leapt for a header but came down on his side and let out a scream.

Late in the game, Ben Polk hobbled around the field after having his feet slide out from under him yet again.

“We’re going to have some pretty sore bodies tomorrow,” McIntyre said after a 2-2 tie to Hartford Tuesday.

No. 15 Syracuse will limp into its game against North Carolina State (8-3-3, 1-2-3 Atlantic Coast) on Friday, perhaps the most important game it has played this season. Squandering two games against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 4 Clemson has shoved the Orange into an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup that could either vault or plunge SU’s (9-4-2, 2-3-1) seeding for the conference tournament.

The Wolfpack trails the Orange in the ACC by just one point with all teams having two conference games left in the regular season. In addition to N.C. State, Louisville and Duke are within one and two points of SU, respectively.

“Both teams will be looking to win this game to rubberstamp,” McIntyre said of SU’s game against N.C. State as he trailed off, “We need another three points to make the ACC playoffs.”

Against UNC, SU allowed two goals in the final 17 minutes after holding a 1-0 lead for over 50 minutes of the game. Despite not getting a goal from midfielder Julian Buescher, McIntrye called Buescher’s performance one of his best this season.

Once Tar Heel midfielder Alex Olofson had ripped his shirt off and ran around the field, McIntyre pulled his team together in the postgame huddle, something the team always does. He told his players that they played well, but that it isn’t enough to lose to top teams.

“I think we were a little bit unfortunate to come away with nothing tonight,” McIntyre said after SU’s game against UNC.

With the ball on Alseth’s foot and 50 seconds on the clock, SU held a tie against Clemson. Tigers forward Kyle Murphy stole the ball from Alseth at midfield, forcing Orange goalie Hendrik Hilpert to run back to the net and get in position. Murphy buried the one-on-one chance.

Once the final whistle blew, Alseth peeled the bottom of his jersey and covered his face for a little bit, bending over. The midfielder said he’s made the play many times before. Alseth went to sleep after the game and none of his teammates pointed fingers to blame him for the loss or mentioned the play the next day.

The reality is that by blowing both games against North Carolina and Clemson in the last two weeks, SU cost itself at least a win and a tie, a total of four points in the standings. Those four points would tie SU with Notre Dame for fourth in the ACC and a potential shot at a home game in its first ACC tournament matchup this season.

SU blew two, one-goal leads against Hartford, injuries piled up — Pasanen and Korab Syla both left the game — and the Orange couldn’t finish it’s chances.

“They’ve been wonderful,” McIntyre said of SU, putting the 2-2 tie against Hartford in perspective. “A 7-1-1 nonconference record is a really terrific nonconference.”

As good as SU’s nonconference play has been, the Orange will need a bit more to boost itself into postseason play.

Published on October 21, 2015 at 9:24 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati