'Cuse Wins CNY Soccer Classic

Sunday, August 31

SU Soccer Stadium

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

2-0-0

St. Mary's

0-2-0

Saint Mary's

Syracuse

8/31/2014 10:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Orange tops St. Mary's, 3-0, to clinch tournament crown

Score By Period	1st	2nd	Final
St. Mary's (Calif.)	0	0	0
Syracuse	2	1	3
Box Score \| Photos Aug. 31, 2014 \| SU Soccer Stadium / Syracuse, N.Y. \| Attendance: 817

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange clinched the inaugural Central New York Soccer Classic title with a 3-0 victory against the St. Mary's Gaels (0-2-0) on Sunday, Aug 31 at the SU Soccer Stadium. Syracuse finished the tournament 2-0-0 after also defeating Niagara by the same score Friday.

Leading returning goal-scorer Emil Ekblom, Jordan Murrell and senior captain Nick Perea scored against the Gaels Sunday, and overall the Orange finished the tournament with a +6 goal differential.

"Once again, that small, final pass wasn't quite there, but it's nice for me to repeat myself – you can't really grumble about a 3-0 win," SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. "We played well. We pressed the ball well. Our ball movement and movement off the ball were both good. We'll work on that final pass again this week, maintain our quality and composure, but we were knocking on the door again tonight."

For the second straight outing, Syracuse dominated its opponent, outshooting the Gaels 21-2, including a 12-0 advantage in the first half.

Ekblom scored his first goal of 2014 in the 10th minute, receiving a quick pass off a free kick from Murrell and burying a shot on the short side of the net from six yards out to put SU ahead, 1-0.

In the 40th minute, Murrell capitalized on a free kick just outside the 18, firing a shot that deflected off St. Mary's keeper Andre Rawls and the right post before crossing the goal line for a 2-0 Orange margin.

The ball remained in Syracuse's attacking third for the majority of the first half. The Orange finished the first 45 minutes with a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks, in addition to their impressive shot differential.

In the second half, the hosts padded their lead in the 58th minute. Forward Chris Nanco was brought down in the box after beating a St. Mary's defender. The Orange was awarded a penalty kick and Perea sent a well struck ball past Rawls to close the game's scoring.

The Gaels rarely threatened in the match. Their best offensive opportunity came with six minutes left, as Cory Schmidt found some space and unleashed a shot that keeper Alex Bono deflected off the post and then safely out of play. It was St. Mary's only shot on goal during the game.

Bono recorded his second shutout in as many games. He has 20 career clean sheets, two shy of tying Robert Cavicchia (2005-08) for second on SU's all-time list.

Nanco, Perea, Murrell and Bono were selected to the Central New York Classic All-Tournament Team for their performances this weekend. Nanco and Murrell were named the tournament's offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively.

Syracuse returns to action Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. when it faces former BIG EAST rival and current Big Ten foe Rutgers at Yurcak Field.

Match Notes: The 2014 season marks the third straight year Syracuse has started 2-0-0 … Sunday's match was the Orange's first-ever game against a team from the West Coast Conference.