Carlos Zambrano’s 8-minute hat trick lifts Syracuse past Colgate
Syracuse snapped its four game winless streak at the hands of Carlos Zambrano, who scored the Orange's first hat trick since 2019. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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For Syracuse and its fans, SU Soccer Stadium is a special place. Ever since it first opened in 1996, the venue has given the Orange a boost unlike most other facilities in college soccer, especially during conference play.
When his team plays at home, the roaring support is a factor that head coach Ian McIntyre isn’t just familiar with, but now expects. The 16th-year gaffer regularly expresses his excitement via X before home games, acknowledging the competitive edge they provide each night.
While that same relentless support has been there to start the 2025 season, the results haven’t followed. Heading into Tuesday’s matchup with Colgate, Syracuse’s home record stood at 0-3-2 — its worst start to a season under McIntyre. Desperate for its first win on home turf since Nov. 1, 2024, SU hoped to finally send the Orange faithful home with a win over its in-state rival.
Thanks to Carlos Zambrano’s unforgettable outing, Syracuse snapped its recent four-game winless streak. Powered by his second-half hat trick, the Orange (3-4-2, 0-2-0 Atlantic Coast) rolled past the Raiders (4-3-2, 0-1-1 Patriot League), 3-0, securing a much-needed nonconference win. The triumph also marked McIntyre’s 142nd at the helm, setting a program record.
Ever since McIntyre moved within one win of becoming SU’s winningest coach, he never paid much attention to it.
After Syracuse’s most recent win over Yale back on Sept. 1, the achievement was seemingly lost in the chaos as McIntyre’s team struggled through an 0-3-1 stretch to begin ACC play. SU securing its next win suddenly became paramount not just for the sake of the record, but for the sake of its season.
“I hope to be evaluated eventually based on how we handle the tough times during the season, things like that. (The chance to claim the record) is very nice, but not a lot of thought has gone into it,” McIntyre said of the milestone on Sept. 10.
Although it’s made a habit of outshooting the opposition — especially in the first half — Syracuse opted to open with a five-back formation against Colgate after conceding five goals across its previous two games. But despite slotting in Bright Nutornutsi as their lone forward, the Orange’s offense started in the driver’s seat.
In the third minute, Nathan Scott’s shot nearly opened the scoring, but the bid missed high. Still riding SU’s high pressure off the hop, Giona Leibold then nearly capitalized on a strike from the left side of the box, but Colgate goalkeeper Eric Widrick denied the chance that seemed destined for the top left corner.
At the other end of the pitch, the Raiders came just as close to breaking the deadlock. Given two corners within the first 17 minutes, Colgate challenged SU goalkeeper Tomas Hut with two early shots — only one of which were on target. But from there, scoring chances became few and far between as the midfield tightened up.
Over the next 20 minutes, neither the Orange nor Raiders registered a single shot on goal as tempers flared between the two. Unfortunately for Syracuse, the fouls quickly piled up as the one-on-one battles became more physical. Sachiel Ming, Chimere Omeze, Tim Brdaric and Nutornutsi were each shown a yellow card during the stretch, making life difficult for SU’s defense. But like it has many times this season, SU’s backline found a way to escape unscathed.
In the final minutes of the first half, both sides’ offenses reawakened and combined for five shots. A last-second attempt from Ming nearly pushed SU in front, but Widrick’s diving stop denied the buzzer beater to keep the contest scoreless at the half.
Registering just six shots and one corner through 45 minutes, it was clear Syracuse’s attack needed a spark out of the break. Thanks to Zambrano, it got one.
Although he was left out of the starting lineup, Zambrano opened the second half for the Orange after coming off the bench midway through the first. Although the senior isn’t the biggest fan of the tactic, it’s one that McIntyre believes is essential for his offense to thrive. As a result, Zambrano has started just three games for the Orange this year.
“He was frustrated again tonight not to start,” McIntyre said of Zambrano’s role.
But even with Zambrano’s support off the bench, Syracuse returned to the same old habits. Despite outshooting Colgate 4-1 through the first 10 minutes out of the break, its attack failed to finish its chances — a trend that’s plagued it since its season opener. That’s why when Zambrano stepped up for a penalty kick in the 58th minute, there was reason to believe he’d let it go to waste. Instead, he flipped the script.
Driving a right-footed blast into the left side of the cage, Zambrano beat Widrick to give the Orange their first tally in 10 days. But that was only the beginning of his masterful performance. Just under two minutes later, the midfielder found twine again.
Following Ming’s blocked shot in the 59th minute, Zambrano was given another chance to cash in via Syracuse’s fifth corner opportunity of the game. He didn’t miss.
Launching a perfectly-placed shot toward the net from the left corner, the ball cleanly sailed over a sea of Colgate defenders and into the back of the net. Now ahead 2-0, the tally gave SU its first multi-goal lead of the campaign and some much-needed breathing room.
With the help of Landon Darko’s assist in the 66th minute, Zambrano capped off his already memorable outing by completing a hat trick.
“He can be a pain sometimes, but at the end of the day, if he puts three goals in the back of the net, he can be a pain all day long,” SU goalkeeper Hut said of Zambrano.
As Zambrano backflipped his way over to his teammates to celebrate his accomplishment, he radiated a level of confidence that Syracuse will need to become a legitimate ACC threat.
The sledding doesn’t get any easier for the Orange from here on out, but Zambrano’s individual effort proved their scoring touch may be returning just in the nick of time.
“We’ve been working, especially me. Nine games without a goal and an assist was very frustrating,” Zambrano said. “Today was my day, but it was also the team’s day.”
