Spring Break
The Daily OrangeSyracuse men's soccer team looks to finish regular season on solid note
By Andrew L. John
Posted: 10/23/09, 1:17 AM EST Section: Sports
Pete Hill remembers clearly the regular season finale last season. Down, 2-0, to then-No. 21 Louisville, the Orange fought its way back into the game and eventually beat the Cardinals, 3-2, in overtime at SU Soccer Stadium.
Now, one year later, Hill occasionally talks to some of his former men's soccer teammates that graduated. They still say that beating Louisville was the crowning moment of their senior season.
"That's really all they remember," said Hill, now a senior co-captain. "That's their most vivid memory from last year. And we have an opportunity to do that same thing this year."
Following the finale, there was no postseason for the Orange. No sneaking into the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid, as some had envisioned. But for the seniors on that team, defeating a ranked opponent in the last game of their collegiate careers sent them out on a high note.
Syracuse enters the weekend with the hopes of recreating a similar finale to this season. The Orange will take the field Saturday on the road against DePaul, before returning home to face St. John's and Cincinnati at SU Soccer Stadium. The trio of games will ultimately determine SU's postseason fate.
But aside from the possibility of reaching the postseason, the Orange seniors are simply focused on erasing the first 15 games of the season and starting anew with the goal of playing their best soccer of the season. It's something that they believe will give meaning to a season that failed to meet expectations.
"We need to just forget what happened these last 15 games, and put together three solid performances," Hill said. "And if we win them all and the numbers work out and we get to the postseason, obviously that's one of our goals and that would be great.
"But if not, just leave it all out on the field knowing that you'll have nothing to regret in the four years that you put into the program."
This season, for the seniors on the Syracuse men's soccer team, the next three games are about more than just trying to make it into the postseason. It's about departing with their heads held high, ending their careers on a high note, and making something out of what has been a disappointing season thus far.
Now, one year later, Hill occasionally talks to some of his former men's soccer teammates that graduated. They still say that beating Louisville was the crowning moment of their senior season.
"That's really all they remember," said Hill, now a senior co-captain. "That's their most vivid memory from last year. And we have an opportunity to do that same thing this year."
Following the finale, there was no postseason for the Orange. No sneaking into the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid, as some had envisioned. But for the seniors on that team, defeating a ranked opponent in the last game of their collegiate careers sent them out on a high note.
Syracuse enters the weekend with the hopes of recreating a similar finale to this season. The Orange will take the field Saturday on the road against DePaul, before returning home to face St. John's and Cincinnati at SU Soccer Stadium. The trio of games will ultimately determine SU's postseason fate.
But aside from the possibility of reaching the postseason, the Orange seniors are simply focused on erasing the first 15 games of the season and starting anew with the goal of playing their best soccer of the season. It's something that they believe will give meaning to a season that failed to meet expectations.
"We need to just forget what happened these last 15 games, and put together three solid performances," Hill said. "And if we win them all and the numbers work out and we get to the postseason, obviously that's one of our goals and that would be great.
"But if not, just leave it all out on the field knowing that you'll have nothing to regret in the four years that you put into the program."
This season, for the seniors on the Syracuse men's soccer team, the next three games are about more than just trying to make it into the postseason. It's about departing with their heads held high, ending their careers on a high note, and making something out of what has been a disappointing season thus far.
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