Syracuse men’s soccer defeats Le Moyne 2-0 for Salt City Derby victory
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If you look around the parking lot near SU Soccer Stadium, you’ll see a fairly big green tent with a white Dolphin. Underneath the tent, Le Moyne alumni and family of the men’s soccer team were tailgating ahead of a matchup with “big brother” Syracuse Saturday night.
Then, once you walk past Chancellor Mike Haynie into the stadium, those in Le Moyne white and Syracuse orange stepped onto the pitch for the Salt City Derby — the local rivalry between the two universities just 2.5 miles apart. Wearing the same kits from their 1-0 shocking win over then-No. 7 SU in 2024, the Dolphins looked to upset the Orange a second time.
“Every time you play in a derby, there’s a little bit more juice to the game,” Syracuse men’s soccer head coach Ian McIntyre said. “There’s that intensity. There’s a kind of electricity. And that was tonight.”
That juice, intensity and electricity manifested into 18 first-half shots, 15 by Syracuse, which missed a penalty. Two from Le Moyne hit the post and stung goalkeeper Juan Martinez-Bastidas’ gloves. Like against Colgate Tuesday, Syracuse (6-3-0, 0-2-0 Atlantic Coast) got a “little bit of magic,” this time from outside back Gabriel Oksanen’s second-half Olimpico and added onto its lead through Bryson Rodriguez to win the Salt City Derby 2-0 against Le Moyne (4-2-2, 0-0-0 Northeast).
Saturday marked the sixth straight nonconference match in 2026 when SU scored at least two goals. But in the first half, Le Moyne and its goalkeeper, Wyatt Dupell, made it seem nothing would get through.
Dupell, a Cicero, New York, native who grew up going to Syracuse matches, was superb in the first half. His six saves, two less than his season-high eight in the 2024 fixture, along with some last-ditch defending from the Dolphins, held the Orange at bay.
Syracuse men’s soccer players pose with a drum after defeating Le Moyne 2-0 Saturday. Midfielder Badr Laghjibi (front) banged the drum postgame to excite SU’s fans and celebrate the victory. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor.
That was until Landon Darko sprinted in behind and shifted the ball to his left foot to avoid an onrushing Dupell with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. But the senior goalkeeper caught the sophomore forward with his right leg, giving SU a golden chance to open the scoring.
A long review delayed Rodriguez’s eventual spot kick, and McIntyre’s midfielder goal-scoring threat was left at a comfortable height for Dupell. The goalkeeper dove the right way to deny the Orange once again. He would go on to have 10 saves in the match, one shy of his career best.
Even though Syracuse didn’t enter halftime trailing as it did two years ago, it felt like a game where SU could easily be frustrated, like their ACC matches against Clemson and Boston College, and be rendered scoreless.
“We needed something special to beat their goalkeeper,” McIntyre said.
McIntyre made a few alterations to his starting lineup to start the second half. One was Oksanen. He hasn’t featured as much as he did after being sent off against New Hampshire — the only one of Syracuse’s nonconference matches that ended in defeat — but he’s been more viable to replace Chimere Omeze off the bench lately.
In the 48th minute, he walked over to the corner flag closest to SU Soccer Stadium’s entrance to take an in-swinging corner. His delivery into the six-yard box caused havoc, so much havoc, in fact, that it traveled past Dupell and everyone else into the far corner for a Syracuse lead.
“The goal was to have everyone on the keeper and aim for the goal, and we did just that. It was perfect,” Oksanen said.
The Orange then pushed for a second. Dakota Jonke, who scored a wonderful free kick against Colgate, missed a sitter. Dupell expertly pushed away a Rodriguez attempt. But the pressure kept piling, and after Darko beat his man, Rodriguez picked up the scraps and slotted the ball past Dupell for a 2-0 Syracuse advantage.
It’s Syracuse’s first Salt City Derby win after one of the most stunning defeats in program history. And for a team unable to translate its nonconference results and performances into wins against conference and ranked opponents, it’s another positive step toward a difficult last stretch, which features six ACC matches and a trip to No. 6 Akron.
“We’re always up for games like these, but you can’t get more up for games like those,” Oksanen said. “It’s the best.”
