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Jackson Glenn sent a deep ball from the right side over the entire Bucknell backline, playing the ball in stride to Levonte Johnson, who chipped the ball over goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth to put the Orange up 1-0 in the ninth minute.

It marked his first career assist in his first career start for the Orange as Glenn was a part of a small lineup switch due to midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski’s suspension. Kocevski entered SU Soccer Stadium as a spectator Tuesday, sitting in the top row of the bleachers, shouting “let’s go kid,” when Glenn’s name was introduced. He served a one-game suspension for receiving a red card in Syracuse’s win over then-No. 11 Louisville on Friday.

The Orange (12-2-1, 5-1-0) eventually won 2-1 over the Bison (2-12, 1-5 Patriot), securing 12 wins for the first time since 2016. In the victory, Glenn’s full 90 minutes and Kocevski’s absence were noticeable. Syracuse often revolves around Kocevski, last week’s ACC Offensive Player of the Week, to distribute the ball out wide and create scoring opportunities. On Tuesday, those skills weren’t as present, though SU had 21 more shots than the Bison.

“It was great to give (Glenn) an opportunity,” head coach Ian McIntyre said. “He’s going to be telling me tomorrow that he should have been playing earlier. He got an assist and a win in his first start for us.”

Kocevski entered with the third-most points and goals on the team, and though Syracuse played a weaker team — one that entered with a goals against average ranking 191st — it couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities that were mostly created on the wings without play in the midfield.

Rather than playing centrally, Syracuse often elected to play over the top. Within the first ten seconds, Colin Biros, who started in place of Kocevski, sent the ball deep to pressure the Bucknell backline. It resulted in a cross attempt, where Nathan Opoku’s header went wide.

Biros predominantly played Kocevski’s role on Tuesday. Head coach Ian McIntyre said he was overall pleased with Biros’ performance, though Syracuse was without a “goal-scoring machine” in Kocevski.

“I thought Colin Biros was terrific,” McIntyre said. “He really took out that Kocevski role of just getting on the ball and dictating on the pace of the play with his passing.”

Syracuse’s defender Christian Curti said the team eventually started to see openings within the Bison backline, which explained why Syracuse often played over the top. Buster Sjoberg played several deep balls, but the Bison controlled them well as Syracuse turned the ball over. Noah Singelmann tried to do the same, skipping the midfield and advancing the ball up the field, but his pass went nowhere near an Orange player.

On one play in the second half, Sjoberg tried to play over the top to left midfield, but it was controlled and cleared by Bucknell. Other times it was successful. Sjoberg played a similar pass to Camden Holbrook, which eventually set up a shot by Curt Calov that went straight to Lapworth.

On another play in the first half, Glenn sent another ball deep from the right side, landing right in the feet of Opoku. Opoku possessed the ball momentarily before drawing a foul and setting up a prime free kick opportunity. But Biros’ free kick completely missed the frame of the goal.

Syracuse’s second goal came from a through ball, though it was on the ground. Curti sent it low, slipping it into Johnson, bypassing the midfield.

“(Kocevski’s out guy to orchestrate stuff in the middle,” Curti said. “Biros did a really good job. Normally when Jeorgio’s there, it kind of gives Biros a little more freedom create attack higher up the field.”

It could’ve been more goals, though. The Bison often turned the ball over the midfield with poor passes among their midfield and backline. Lorenzo Boselli, Kocevski’s counterpart in the center-attacking midfield, won the ball off an errant pass, but when trying to find forward Julius Rauch, the pass misconnected.

With just over 21 minutes remaining, Boselli tried to play the ball wide left to Giona Leibold, but Bucknell’s right back intercepted it and the play eventually resulted in a hard tackle on Leibold.

“They don’t have the control and the poise in the game,” said Kocevski’s father, Ile, at halftime. “He kind of sets the tempo for them to either play faster or slow the game up.”

The Orange’s midfield still contributed to several opportunities, but Syracuse didn’t move the ball through the central midfield as frequently as it did in other games. Boselli and Biros combined for five of the Orange’s 29 shots on the night.

On one play after a poor clearance by Lapworth, Sjoberg gained possession, passing it off to Opoku. Opoku tapped the ball to Boselli, who got it out wide to Singelmann, but the ensuing shot went straight to the goalkeeper.

“We probably know (Kocevski’s) our best playmaker,” Boselli said. “Biros and Curti played well and all that mattered was winning.”

Published on October 18, 2022 at 10:49 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini