Syracuse men’s soccer scores 3 corner kick goals in 5-0 win vs. St. John’s
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Just past the center circle, Ian McIntyre wiped the rain off his face.
SU’s head coach looked down at the waterlogged field, tested it with a few stomps and proceeded toward the net his team attacked moments earlier. There, he inspected the puddle that engulfed the penalty arc, created by the unceasing downpour, as if staring into the one thing to slow his team Wednesday.
Because amid the rain, Syracuse (4-2-0, 0-1-0 Atlantic Coast) shut out St. John’s (2-3-0, 0-0-0 Big East) 5-0, earning its largest victory since 2023. SU dominated the attacking third, scoring three goals off corners and taking a season-high 24 shots to St. John’s 12. The Orange put 13 of those on target, while the Red Storm managed five.
“(The rain) is not ideal, but our groundsmen have done a great job. We’ve had rain all day long,” McIntyre said postgame. “I’m glad we managed to get through with the game. But by the end, the ball, specifically, was getting a bit stuck.”
Syracuse, however, didn’t.
It kept the same free-flowing nature that has characterized the team through six games. With both teams lining up in a 3-5-2 formation, SU overloaded SJU’s midfield, allowing the Orange comfortable possession in St. John’s half. The control didn’t impact Syracuse’s defensive stability. The Orange’s wide midfielders, primarily Sachiel Ming and Chimere Omeze, tracked back, turning the back three into five in defensive transition.
Eight minutes in, Ming scored an Olimpico. Albeit not in the same fashion as Carlos Zambrano’s two in 2025, Ming’s corner kick went untouched through traffic in the box and landed just over the goal line before Aron Wilhelmsen attempted to clear.
The Red Storm, entering Wednesday on the heels of a 1-0 win with seven shots against Florida International, didn’t record one until the 22nd. Syracuse had logged four.
Then came the substitutions: Jordan Grey, Pedro Gulli and Bryson Rodriguez entered for Nathan Scott, Landon Darko and Badr Laghjibi in the 27th minute.
Grey made an immediate impact. Within five minutes, his cross from the right flank found Kristjan Fortier on the corner of the box. Fortier’s curler forced St. John’s goalkeeper Nico Bezama to make his second of seven saves.
Moments later, an SU clearance found Grey behind SJU’s backline. Just beyond the six-yard box, his shot ricocheted over the incoming Bezama, into the path of a sliding Gulli to double Syracuse’s lead.
“I thought we started really well. We got ourselves ahead in the game,” McIntyre said. “I suppose we are a team that likes to be on the front foot.”
But Syracuse wasn’t done. With three minutes left in the first half, Fortier collected the ball near the left edge of the penalty arc. He fired a shot from 20 yards out past Bezama’s left side.
It was a triumph of McIntyre’s system against a familiar nonconference opponent.
“I like that St. John’s team,” McIntyre said. “That St. John’s team will win games this year. I liked them going into it. I think (SJU head coach David Masur) is one of the very best in college soccer.”
The Red Storm, like the Orange, recorded a clean sheet against Loyola and fell by one to New Hampshire. Before Wednesday, McIntyre and Masur met six times in official play, with the SJU manager’s three wins and a draw leading the matchup.
Despite the heavy deficit, Masur’s side settled to start the second half. In the 61st minute, St. John’s forward Travis Thompson cut into the box and shot. Moments later, Andrew Porucznik weaved through multiple SU defenders before laying it off for a cross.
But nothing materialized.
Ming and Omeze, who began the second half on the bench, replaced Dario White and Gabriel Oksanen in the 63rd minute. Within 10 minutes, the Orange scored again. Ming’s corner kick pinballed across seven players before Dakota Jonke cashed in.
Jonke entered the game for Ivan Irinimbabazi just before the goal. Right after the goal, Scott replaced Buster Honeywood. With Garrett Holman starting the second half on the bench, none of SU’s starting backline was in for the second time this season.
By the 77th minute, another Ming corner spelled the Red Storm’s deficit to five. His service, taken from the right end, found Dominic Bell on the back post. Bell headed the ball across the face of goal and into the path of Darko, whose header slipped past Bezama and Xavi Abeijon.
“The conditions were a factor; I thought we did a good job of taking that,” McIntyre said. “That’s a good, well-coached team and that’s a good result. And I think at the end of the season, we’ll look back and say this was a good one.”
With full time nearing, Syracuse’s whole team stood as the rain continued. White wrapped a towel around his head; Grey did the same around his shoulders. Ming smiled once the result was secured, and McIntyre set forth to acknowledge St. John’s before studying the field’s damage.
He knows his side has a job ahead as they travel to face Boston College Saturday. Back at home, the groundskeepers will, too.
