Julian Buescher had to compromise with head coach Ian McIntyre before taking the field against Rutgers Sunday night.

The sophomore lined up as the center midfielder, but Buescher desires to “go forward,” and score. The Syracuse head coach gave his blessing for Buescher to label his position as 8.4 — a hybrid between the number eight position at center forward and the number four position at center midfield.

With all logistical constraints removed, Buescher reigned freely over the attacking half of the field and scored while occasionally being reeled back to bolster the Orange counterattack.

“There’s a defensive responsibility that he understands when games get opened up,” McIntyre said, “(but) we want him in dangerous areas.

“Julian has the ability to be a difference-maker for us.”

Playing the role of goal scorer, stopper and distributor, Buescher dabbled in every facet of Syracuse’s (3-1) 2-1 win against Rutgers (2-1) on Sunday night in front of 2,193 at SU Soccer Stadium.

His goal — the first of his SU career — just seconds into the second half validated the prior 45 minutes of soccer that had otherwise been dotted with missed opportunities.

Forward Chris Nanco approached the Scarlet Knights’ box and dished a pass off to Buescher on his left. The midfielder craftily worked his way around the only defender in front of him, and his only opening to shoot featured a four-foot gap between the near post and goalkeeper David Greczek. The ball sailed through the small window and Buescher sprung for the ground with his arms and legs extended as his teammates piled on.

“The skills he can do are ridiculous,” forward Ben Polk said. “He’s got a locker and more full of skill. His passing ability, his vision, his creativity — it’s just composure.”

With the Orange having their first lead of the night to defend, that wasn’t the mindset Buescher chose to have. Three minutes later Nanco and Buescher put on another production they had rehearsed in practice.

Buescher trailed the dribbling junior forward by several feet as Rutgers defenders began to swarm on the ball. Nanco heeled the ball behind him with Buescher no where in his field of vision. Buescher fired a shot just inches above the crossbar and against the chain link fence behind the net.

Nanco said he didn’t need to see Buescher, as the experienced offensive players can just verbally find each other.

“You train for that,” Buescher said. “Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t. We have a lot of good, tricky players up front.”

Buescher was a magnet to the ball nearly the entire match. McIntyre complimented the versatility he brings on the field as a player reliable enough to handle the ball under pressure on defense or take advantage of an offensive opportunity.

He provided the Orange with one of their first scoring chances by firing a corner kick that Miles Robinson came so close to heading in that he rolled into the back of the net after just missing the finessed, curving pass.

Moments later, he found himself sprinting to prevent a Syracuse ball go out of bounds for a Rutgers corner kick. Buescher couldn’t stay away.

“Where (Buescher) lacks pace he still is impossible to get the ball off him,” Polk said. “He calms us down and keeps the ball for us when we’re under pressure.”

Published on September 7, 2015 at 12:16 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman