Up and down the right side of the field, Noah Rhynhart was able to find a little bit more space than usual. Accustomed to playing forward, the senior was forced out on the wing for Syracuse by an injury to Korab Syla.

“Noah’s been kind of struggling a little bit with illness, but I thought when he came on up front first half, he was very good,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “So we wanted to try and keep him on the field.”

Rhynhart, Andreas Jenssen and Jonathan Hagman all played increased minutes because of injuries to Syla and Juuso Pasanen. In SU’s (9-4-2, 2-3-1 Atlantic Coast) 2-2 overtime tie against Hartford (4-5-5, 0-2-2 America East), the senior forward created the chances, but others failed to convert on opportunities that could have put SU out in front.

The senior has started only one game this season, but played in 14-of-15 matches total. Rhynhart has typically played to spell forwards Chris Nanco and Ben Polk this year.

“He was good, was one of the best guys we had out there,” midfielder Julian Buescher said. “He came in and gave us some energy. That’s what we need from him.”

From the forward spot, Rhynhart had found some success. After coming into the game for Nanco with a little less than 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Rhynhart never came out in the next 85 minutes.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Rhynhart ripped a cross through the box that carried to Syla along the endline. Syla passed to Liam Callahan at the top of the box, and an Oyvind Alseth shot was sent wide of the net.

Syla sat on the turf while a trainer attended to him after a jumbled play in the box with about 30 minutes left in regulation. He walked off the field with a trainer at his side and McIntyre jogged out to the senior midfielder before Syla came to the bench.

“It wasn’t too difficult (of a transition),” Rhynhart said. “The game really opened up.”

The injury forced Hagman, who has only played eight games this season, onto the field and pushed Rhynhart out on the right wing, where Syla typically plays. Rhynhart said his speed allows him to play out on the edge and fill in at a spot that has been crucial for SU this season.

Syla and Callahan, who plays the other wing in SU’s 3-5-2 formation, have contributed seven combined assists from the outside and Alseth has scored on three others. That accounts for about 30 percent of SU’s goals this season.

On the edge, one of the best chances Rhynhart was able to produce was a cross to Nanco, who leaped to get his foot on the ball with just 15 minutes left in the game. Instead, the junior forward missed and the ball sailed wide.

After the game, Syla was walking around under his own power. Although, it didn’t yield a goal, Rhynhart helped give SU a shot in the arm down the stretch.

“I’m glad that he showed he can do it,” Buescher said of playing the wing. “That he comes from the bench and says, ‘Oh, whatever. I’ll show them that I’m here.’”

Published on October 20, 2015 at 11:23 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati