The Syracuse men’s soccer team fought back late in the second half of regulation to earn the 1-1 draw against the Princeton Tigers.
The first 45 minutes were evenly matched. The Orange had two shots on goal in the first half and the Tigers had three. Syracuse goalie Hendrik Hilpert made the best save in the first half, a close range opportunity in the 16th minute.
Center back Kamal Miller played a solid defensive first half, with his most notable play just over nine minutes into the game. A ball was sent through to the Princeton attack, and Miller tracked back to take the ball away just outside of the box.
After the half, Princeton came out strong. The Tigers’ persistence led to a goal in the 69th minute of the game. Princeton freshman Frankie De Rosa finished on the rebounded shot from Daniel Bowkett. Hilpert gave credit to the Tigers.
“They came here with a magnificent attitude. They came here with incredible preparation. They are very athletic and they definitely deserve the respect.”
With 16 minutes left in regulation, Miller was given a red card to put the Orange down a man. This is the second game this week that Syracuse men’s soccer received a red card and played a man down.
However the last game, Syracuse scored with a man down.
Without one shot on goal the entire half the Orange responded to the red card and played with a sense of urgency. In the 83rdminute of the game Tajon Buchanan ripped a shot that hit the post and brought the Syracuse crowd to its feet. Not even 30 seconds later, sophomore defender John-Austin Ricks shot a ball from 30 yards out over the goalkeeper’s head into the net.
This is the second game in a row where the Orange scored with only 10 players on the field.
“I think when you’re behind and you’re down, those emotions, you’ve got nothing to lose so it becomes a lot easier. I was delighted with our response.” Coach Ian McIntyre said. “I thought we were outstanding when we were chasing the game.”
The Syracuse men’s soccer team will finish the weekend with another home game on Sunday at 7 p.m. against Northwestern.
