Start-to-finish efforts by Syracuse have been few and far between. The team has had issues stringing together a complete game lately and several players admitted SU hasn’t played consistently for all 90 minutes.

Junior forward Erin Simon thinks Syracuse needs to begin approaching each remaining game differently.

“We have a lot of freshmen who need to understand that we need to play a full 90 minutes,” Simon said. “But it’s not all just them. It’s a team as a whole because we as veterans need to bring them in and teach them. We can’t take any time off in any of these games because they’re all vital.”

Struggling in the second halves of games and defending set pieces, Syracuse (4-5-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) has recorded losses in its past six games and now sits in a tie for eighth-place in the ACC standings. SU needs to quickly regroup or risk missing the conference tournament. The Orange hopes to overcome its late-game struggles and its set piece defending this Saturday at 7 p.m. against Boston College (8-4, 1-2) at SU Soccer Stadium.

The Orange has allowed 11 goals after halftime as opposed to only three in the first half this season.

SU played scoreless first halves with Cincinnati on Sept. 21 and Pittsburgh on Sunday, but second-half collapses led to losses of 3-1 and 1-0, respectively. Earlier this season, SU held Penn State scoreless at halftime, but lost 2-0.

The Orange needs to finish Saturday’s game stronger, goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan said, and bring a similar intensity to the second half that it does in the first frame.

“We need to stay more focused in the second half,” junior defender Taylor Haenlin said. “A few times we’ve been up going into halftime and we kind of take our foot off the gas.”

Despite getting 76 shots off in the second half as opposed to 62 in the first, SU has been unable to capitalize. The Orange has scored nine goals in the first half and only seven in the second frame, failing to convert on its chances.

The team has also struggled giving up goals off of set pieces this season. Corner kicks, free kicks and penalty kicks have all troubled Syracuse late in games.

“We’ve conceded a lot of goals off of set pieces,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “As far as corner kicks go, it’s a lack of discipline by leaving someone unmarked or watching the ball.”

SU let Drexel back into a game after leading 2-0 at halftime. The Dragons would later go on to tie the game after SU allowed a goal off a corner kick. A poorly defended corner kick less than two minutes into the game was all it took to give Louisville the lead and a 1-0 win as well.

The team is focusing on defending set pieces, Simon said. She thinks Syracuse is improving by learning to vocalize and increase its energy during set pieces, especially in the second half of games.

“We need to come out strong in the second half,” Haenlin said, “and really stay focused and make it a goal not to have any goals against us.”

Published on October 2, 2014 at 12:07 am

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu