The ball deflected off of an North Carolina State defender and trickled out of the penalty box. Then, freshman midfielder Amferny Sinclair collected the ball on his right boot and whistled a volley into the top left corner of the net. By the time NC State goalkeeper Vincent Durand could react, Sinclair was already racing towards the left corner flag in celebration. 

Sinclair’s first collegiate goal gave Syracuse (7-4-4, 2-3-2 Atlantic Coast) a 3-0 lead that they would not relinquish. It’s only the second time this season that No. 23 NC State (8-4-3, 3-3-1) has conceded three goals, the first being a 3-1 loss to No. 2 Wake Forest on Oct. 11. The Orange also outshot the Wolfpack 15-5. SU head coach Ian McIntyre was impressed with the Orange’s ball movement and pressure from start to finish, which fueled the strong offensive performance. 

“NC State is one of the teams I enjoy watching play,” McIntyre said. “The back three can really dominant a game. To disrupt them you have to work very hard.” 

The Orange took control of the tempo from the opening whistle, driving into NC State’s final third before committing a foul in the first minute. Junior Sondre Norheim had SU’s first legitimate scoring chance 10 minutes in, but he stumbled and whiffed on the shot.

Four minutes later, sophomore Julio Fulcar drove towards the right corner flag before flipping his hips and crossing the ball right to the head of sophomore Ryan Raposo, but the team’s leading-scorer redirected the ball over the bar. 

Later in the half, Norheim had another opportunity, and this time he hit it cleanly – albeit over the bar and off the orange Syracuse-themed fencing surrounding the stadium. With under 10 minutes remaining in the half, McIntyre cycled in three pairs of fresh legs, including senior Severin Soerlie.

Fifty seconds later, Soerlie was doing a somersault in jubilation after scoring the first goal of the match, putting SU ahead 1-0. The senior had slid and redirected a cross from fellow substitute Luther Archimede just inside the near post. It was his fourth of the year, this one coming on senior night. 

“I saw the defender was a little bit unsteady,” Soerlie said. “So I have to cut in front of him, I just have to jump in front of him and tap the ball in.” 

In the second half, NC State came out more aggressive, but McIntyre urged his team to settle down, yelling from the sideline: “Don’t let them back in the game.”

“They were chasing the game and causing us some problems in picking up that second ball,” McIntyre said. 

The Orange rediscovered that crisp ball movement in second half courtesy of crisp one-two combination between Raposo and senior Massimo Ferrin. Raposo received a long ball and drove to the right of the goal, attracting a second defender. Right as he turned to shoot, he back-heeled the ball to Ferrin for a one-on-one with goalkeeper but this time Durand was up to the task. 

Raposo would get his revenge in the 62nd minute. He gathered a free kick with his left foot from sophomore Hilli Goldhar, turned and in one motion curled a shot over Durand’s outstretched arm, off the crossbar and in. 

“You can ask the guys, that’s my favorite type of shot,” Raposo said. “Every time in training I get the chance I’m practicing that shot.” 

Less than four minutes later, Sinclair netted what McIntyre called “a pile-driver of a goal.” His teammates mobbed the freshman by the corner flag as NC State players looked around in stunned disbelief, finding themselves down by three goals. 

“Things were just clicking today,” Raposo said, “The guys are really confident and happy and ready to move on to the next one.” 

Published on October 26, 2019 at 11:52 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu