SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sophomore Julian Buescher (Duelmen, Germany) posted his second multiple-goal match of the season to lead the No. 15/-- Syracuse men’s soccer team in its 2-2 tie against Hartford on Tuesday, Oct. 20. It was the final non-conference game of the season for the Orange, which posted a 7-1-1 record against teams outside the ACC in 2015.

All of the scoring in the first half took place in a span of just more than three minutes. Buescher gave Syracuse a 1-0 lead when he put a shot from 20 yards out in the back of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. Senior Juuso Pasanen (Kuopio, Finland) assisted on the play.

It didn’t take long for the Hawks (4-5-5) to record the equalizer. On the ensuing possession, Hartford was awarded a free kick after an Orange foul. Mikkel Song crossed the ball to the left side of the box where he connected with Andre Morrison, who posted his second goal of the season.

The Orange (9-4-2) had two quality chances to go ahead, but freshman Miles Robinson’s (Arlington, Mass.) header on a corner kick and senior Noah Rhynhart’s (Albany, N.Y.) shot from the right side of the box went wide as the teams went into the locker room tied at intermission.

Syracuse was the more dangerous team after the break, but couldn’t connect on its service into the box. The Orange regained the lead when it was awarded a penalty kick in the 57th minute after a handball was called on Hartford inside the box. Buescher converted on the attempt to put Syracuse back on top, 2-1. It was his seventh goal of the year, which ranks first on the squad, as does his 21 points this season.

The Hawks responded in the 64th minute when Song served the ball to the left side of the box to Blake Jones, who placed his shot into the right corner to again even the score at 2-2. Syracuse continued to press forward, but couldn’t take advantage of its opportunities as the game went into overtime.

After neither team generated any quality chances in the first extra session, the Orange controlled the second overtime period but couldn’t get a shot on frame.

“We’ve been wonderful all year – I’m very proud of the group, but tonight we weren’t,” said Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre. “Give credit to Hartford. We created some chances to win the game but we couldn’t put them away. You take the highs with the lows. Tonight we were a little off.”

Syracuse outshot Hartford, 15-6, and earned nine corner kicks to two for the Hawks. Hartford goalkeeper David MacKinnon made two saves, while Syracuse freshman Hendrik Hilpert (Eiterfeld, Germany) had one.

The Orange returns to ACC play on Friday, Oct. 23 when it hosts North Carolina State in its final regular-season home match at 7 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium. Admission is free.

AGATE
                               1st          2nd        1OT        2ndOT   Final

Hartford               1              1              0              0              2
Syracuse              1              1              0              0              2

Scoring:
18:28     SU          Julian Buescher (Juuso Pasanen)
21:21     HART     Andre Morrison (Mikkel Song)
56:57     SU          Julian Buescher (penalty kick)
63:52     HART     Blake Jones (Mikkel Song)

Shots: Syracuse 15, Hartford 6
Corner Kicks: Syracuse 9, Hartford 2
Saves: Syracuse 1 (Hendrik Hilpert), Hartford 2 (David MacKinnon)

Attendance: 387

-- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: NEW YORK’S COLLEGE TEAM --