Go ahead and cross your fingers. Caress your rabbit’s foot or start searching for that four-leaf clover.

Because after Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Virginia Tech, the Syracuse men’s soccer team needs more than luck to reach the postseason.

“We’re hoping,” sophomore Ryan Hickey said. “Stranger things have happened.”

The loss dropped the Orangemen (7-7-2, 3-5-1 Big East) to ninth in the Big East, two points behind Georgetown with one conference game left. SU needs to defeat No. 7 Connecticut in its final Big East test and hope Georgetown fails to earn two points in its final two games — against last-place West Virginia and No. 1 St. John’s.

Rutgers, which holds the seventh spot, needs one point to clinch a Big East Tournament berth.

Syracuse coach Dean Foti said SU would need to win at least one game in the Big East tournament to have any chance at an NCAA berth.

But despite holding only a sliver of opportunity, the Orangemen continue to hope.

They have maintained an undefeated record in the New York State region, tying St. John’s, 1-1, and beating regional-No. 2 Hartwick. Syracuse currently ranks No. 4 in a region where the top two teams generally make the NCAA Tournament.

Tonight, SU plays its final New York regional contest at Cornell (3-5-3, 0-3-1 Ivy League) at 7 p.m.

“What happens if we win against Cornell?” Foti asked. “We’re still undefeated in New York. If we beat UConn, that’s two Top 25 teams we beat. If we still get in the Big East tournament and win a couple games, they’ll have to say we’re the second-best team in New York.”

But that’s about the only chance left in a season that once brimmed with opportunity. And knowing the Orangemen’s late-season history, any bright side will soon be snuffed out.

Including thus far this year, Syracuse is a combined 0-10 in the final four games of a season since 2000.

“I think a lot of guys, it’s in the back of our minds a little bit,” Hickey said. “We don’t want teams to look at us when we lose at the end of the year and think, ‘same old Syracuse.’ ”

Foti, though, disagreed.

“That has nothing to do with it,” Foti said. “This is a completely different team.”

Foti maintains this year’s squad is different than the past two in a couple important ways. Injuries haven’t debilitated the Orangemen and, despite the results, Syracuse has rarely been dominated.

After Sunday’s defeat, midfielder Ryan Hall said Syracuse outplayed its opponents for the fifth consecutive game. Too bad SU’s record in those meetings was 1-2-2.

The Orangemen outshot the Hokies, 15-12. They earned two more corner kicks, and Hall said SU dominated time of possession. But with less than two minutes left, Virginia Tech’s Bobby O’Brien blasted home the game-winner.

“Last year was unbelievable,” Hall said. “We always found ways to give up goals. This year, we’re finding ways not to score.”

“Same old story with us,” Hickey said. “It was the same old feeling – disbelief. You think it’s not happening to us again. But it is.”

Same old story. Same old results. Same old Orangemen.

Published on October 29, 2002 at 12:00 pm