Syracuse stalls, ties Pittsburgh after double overtime

The opportunities to capitalize on the scoring chances were endless for Syracuse. Facing winless Pittsburgh, the Orange continued to show its aggression as the opponent drifted into a passive state.

Unfortunately, the Orange (8-4-1) were unable to score the one goal needed to take down the Panthers (0-6-4), as the game ended at 0-0 in double overtime.

“All the chances we had, the ball just didn’t want to get in the back of the net today,” midfielder Stefanos Stamoulacatos said. “We had our chances.”

Syracuse had the looks of a team that was about to turn the page after enduring a tough loss to Boston College early in the week. Stamoulacatos, Alex Halis and Emil Ekblom provided the sense of urgency for the Orange, who outshot the Panthers 20-1.

“We should’ve won this game,” Ekbolm said. “They (Pittsburgh) made it difficult for us, the way they pressed.”

Head coach Ian McIntyre felt that the Panthers indeed deserved praise, as they entered Saturday’s game with zero wins on the board this season.

“Give Pittsburgh a lot of credit. It’s a team that fought and scrapped,” coach Ian McIntyre said. “Having said that, on another night we take a couple more of those chances.”

McIntyre expressed some displeasure over his team’s start to the second half, saying how the game went “a little bit dead” until around the 10-minute mark. From that point on, Syracuse pushed it into gear on the offensive side.

Ekbolm had his chances around the net, along with Nick Perea, whose shot in the 83^rd minute was stopped by Pittsburgh goalkeeper Dan Lynd.

None of those opportunities, however, will sting as badly compared to the missed opportunity Stefanos Stamoulacatos had late in the first overtime.

In the 109^th minute, Stamoulacatos unloaded on a shot on goal with his left foot. In a fitting theme of tonight’s game, the ball came up short of the net, hitting off the goal post as the clock continued to tick down.

The energetic crowd on hand once again unleashed a large sigh after another missed opportunity late in the game for the Orange. Coach McIntyre kept his usual calm and cool attitude after the game. He emphasized how Stamoulacatos managed to put himself in a position to score, and that it was simply an unlucky night for the offense.

“Stef had some good looks tonight. He’s a technician that you want in the penalty area,” McIntyre said. “Just tonight, he had a chance with that nice left foot of his, and tonight they happened to hit the goal post or the goal keeper.”

The Orange hopes to quickly regroup and take advantage of its scoring chances as the team travels to face ACC foe North Carolina. Saturday’s offensive struggle might simply be a small bump in the road for the young squad. Ekbolm is hopeful that Syracuse will be on the winning side of its chances in the upcoming weeks.

“We had a good week of practice,” Ekbolm said.  “Now we have to keep creating chances and hope the goals will come.”