Syracuse men’s soccer off to best start since 2023 after 4-0 win vs. Iona
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Dakota Jonke keeled over.
Bryson Rodriguez dropped to the ground and extended his hands toward the sky, while Pedro Gulli lay on the ground, eyes shut, chasing his breath. The rest seemed well deserved. Each had spent parts of the last 90 minutes tirelessly working the ball throughout Iona’s half, eventually combining for four goals and assists.
“It’s all the hard work we put in the summer, even in the spring,” Rodriguez said. “I’m coming out of injury. I had a surgery in the spring, so it was obviously a mental battle, but yeah, just happy to be back.”
Three of those goal contributions were from Rodriguez, as Syracuse (3-1-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated Iona (1-1-1, 0-0-0 Metro) 4-0 Monday. The Orange took a season-high 23 shots to Iona’s five and limited the Gaels to one shot on target. Syracuse is off to its best start in three years, when it began the 2023 season 3-0-1.
Head coach Ian McIntyre made five changes to the starting lineup from SU’s 2-0 win over Loyola Friday. Most notable was Badr Laghjibi, whose two assists Friday earned him a spot playing behind Landon Darko and Sachiel Ming as an attacking midfielder in a 3-5-2 formation.
Laghjibi pushed up into a strike partnership with Darko, while Ming dropped back on the left and Rodriguez filled in as a midfield roamer. So with the new faces in McIntyre’s front line, it was fitting a defender made noise first.
Following Matias Garnier’s foul on Darko under two minutes in, Rodriguez delivered an out-swinging free kick from four yards outside the box’s right corner. It found Buster Honeywood, who cashed in from point-blank range with a header.
The second, just nine minutes later, was nearly identical. Kristjan Fortier’s cross from the right wing dropped in front of Rodriguez, who guided the ball past Iona’s Josh Bells into the bottom left corner.
“It’s working with guys, it’s getting the right combination,” McIntyre said. “But Bryson gave important goals from midfield. We’ve got some depth up front, but we’ve got the ability to score from a number of positions.”
It took Iona until the 24th minute to log a shot, and it was Juan Martinez-Bastidas’ lone save of the game. But Iona’s defense began to rebound. It took the Orange 51 minutes after their second goal to score again.
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Syracuse GK Juan Martinez-Bastidas keeps clean sheet in debut win over Iona
Goalkeeper Juan Martinez-Bastidas made his collegiate debut for Syracuse Monday in its 4-0 win over Iona. The sophomore commanded SU’s backline with a clean sheet.
Dario White weaved through multiple players at the end of the first half, but his run was stunted before he could shoot. A Nathan Scott pass found Darko at the top of the box at the beginning of the second, but Darko’s attempt at the bottom corner deflected off Iona’s Garnier just wide of the post.
It finally seemed like Iona was settling in. The Gaels created a breakaway five minutes into the second half, forcing Martinez-Bastidas to dive in the one-on-one.
But SU’s Jackson Miller found a gap.
More specifically, Iona’s Florian Schutt and Jaime Roman Jr. in the backline. Miller weaved a through ball between them to Ming. When Bells spilled Ming’s shot into the box, Darko grabbed the rebound.
“I was pleased with the energy and the quality we had to start the second off,” McIntyre said. “Then, as it wore on, the third goal really kind of took the game away.”
It sure did, McIntyre. After Darko’s goal, the Gaels mustered just two more attempts on SU’s net, the second a garbage-time shot from nearly 20 yards outside Syracuse’s box from Manuel Gentile. The try sailed over Martinez-Bastidas’ crossbar.
On the other side, SU’s newfound attack cut its way through Iona’s defense. Rodriguez beat Matthew Benavides to the ball in the midfield, intercepting the pass meant for the Iona midfielder.
With the outside of his foot, Rodriguez crossed the ball into Gulli’s path, who finished the job with a routine strike into the keeper’s bottom right corner to make it 4-0. It was SU’s largest win since 2024.
And thus ended the prelude to Clemson. Through four nonconference games, Syracuse has seemingly answered its question of who’d lead the front line. Instead of just one person, the Orange have an ensemble cast of Jordan Grey, Rodriguez, Gulli and Darko, each able to hold their own in front of goal.
Since 2010, only two teams, Clemson and Stanford, have won the NCAA College Cup twice. Following its win in 2022, SU has aimed to become the third. The Tigers were on McIntyre’s mind postgame.
“We realize the challenge that’s going to come Friday against Clemson,” McIntyre said. “But we’ve got good moments, and we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us. It’ll be a really fun atmosphere and a fun game.”
