After the Syracuse men’s soccer team won the Mayor’s Cup in Oneonta last year, head coach Dean Foti said that Big East conference play is the true ‘bread and butter’ of the season.

Having to defend the cup this weekend has not changed his mind.

‘Everything that we do in the non-conference schedule is in preparation for the Big East season,’ Foti said. ‘This [weekend] gives us two more opportunities to identify what it is that we need to clean up and make it better before we get to the Big East schedule.’

The Orange (1-2) travels to Oneonta this weekend to defend its Mayor’s Cup title, which the team won for the first time last season. Syracuse will face Loyola (Md.) Friday and Bucknell Sunday on the Hartwick campus.

During the last few seasons, Syracuse has racked up several wins in non-conference games but has struggled when faced with a stretch of tough conference foes. This season hasn’t stuck with the trend. The Orange has suffered two tough road losses to in-state opponents Binghamton and Colgate, putting the team in a precarious position heading into this weekend.

Foti said he chooses to look at the two losses as an indication of what his team needs to improve upon before Big East play begins.

‘We still play the games with the same purpose in mind, it’s just that we played two NCAA level teams at their place,’ Foti said. ‘For us, we learned some valuable lessons at both those places, and those are the lessons you need to learn before you get into the Big East games.’

Foti said the team has been effective at finding opportunities to score, but defensive organization and limiting opponents’ scoring chances are still areas of weakness.

Pushing the panic button at this point in the season might be a bit premature, but history is not on the Orange’s side. Syracuse has not had a winning record in Big East play since 1999. Repeating as champions of the Mayor’s Cup tournament could build some momentum for the team heading into Big East play, which begins Sept. 18 against Seton Hall.

But even two wins this weekend may not translate to success in Big East play. Last season, Syracuse hit the ground running when it started the year off with a 3-0-2 record, including a dominating sweep of the Mayor’s Cup tournament over North Carolina-Wilmington and Florida Gulf Coast.

But during a two and a half week stretch in the heart of the season in which the Orange faced five nationally ranked Big East teams – including three in the top five – the team emerged with a 1-3-1 record and limped through the rest of its schedule.

Redshirt freshman goalie Ryan Jones said that Syracuse’s past difficulties in Big East play would not weigh on his mind this weekend.

‘I’m not too worried about it,’ Jones said. ‘We’ve done well in non-conference in the past. This year we’re just not quite clicking yet. We’ve got a lot of new guys this year. The more we play together the better we’ll get.’

Although Jones did not play in the Mayor’s Cup tournament last year, he observed the games firsthand and immersed himself in the atmosphere of the tournament. He said he believes this will prepare him for the two games this weekend and make him aware of what to expect.

With the Big East portion of its schedule looming large, Syracuse will need to defend its Mayor’s Cup title with a significant display of force in order to enter the Big East opener against Seton Hall with some momentum.

This may not be an easy task. Loyola (Md.) was ranked No. 18 in the nation during the preseason poll. Bucknell comes from the same conference as Colgate (the Patriot League), who defeated the Orange, 3-2, in overtime Monday.

Despite the challenges ahead, Jones said he’s eager to continue moving through the schedule.

Said Jones, ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how we play throughout the rest of the season.’

azmeola@syr.edu

Published on September 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm