Noah Singelmann looked left of the penalty box in the 64th minute, before sending a free kick to Buster Sjoberg, who was left of the goal. Sjoberg headed the ball to Colin Biros lingering at the crease of the net. Biros received the ball and sent a backheel flick towards the Drexel goal, narrowly beating the goalkeeper near the post to notch the first goal of the entire contest.
Minutes later, Singelmann beat his defender to collect the ball off a corner. Singelmann passed to Christian Curti, who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper near the post to secure Syracuse’s 2-0 win over Drexel and keep the Dragons shotless over 80 minutes on Thursday.
“Coming off a rough season last year, it’s just the first game first win, but what’s more important (is) no shots on target,” Singelmann said postgame.
Despite remaining out of the starting lineup in the first half, Singelmann catalyzed Syracuse’s first win of the season with two assists on the Orange’s two goals. Syracuse opened the 2021 regular season against the Dragons, the first time the two teams have met for regular season play in program history.
In last season’s abbreviated season, the Orange went 2-7-4 overall, with only three goals in their wins over opponents — two from Noah Singelmann and one from then-freshman Deandre Kerr.
Though Kerr was unable to find the back of the net, he created Syracuse’s final scoring opportunity of the first half off the throw-in ball from Singelmann. Kerr constructed a give-and-go between him and Francesco Pagano, who took a shot on goal that could not be executed. Both teams closed out the first period scoreless, with three Syracuse shots on goal.
In the offseason, Syracuse lost forward Luther Archimede, wide players Simon Triantafillou, John-Austin Ricks and defender Sondre Norheim. Head coach Ian McIntyre and his team welcomed 10 freshman players and five players from the transfer portal.
Singelmann, recovering from an injury, came off the bench early in the first half. Syracuse opened the second half playing a long ball off the kickoff, sending the ball wide of Drexel’s net on its first possession.
On the ensuing possession, Curt Calov drew a foul after a Drexel defender slid into the midfielder’s ankle. McIntyre shouted toward the Drexel bench as Giona Leibold received a yellow card, too.
Moments later, Leibold raced up the line, just wide of the Drexel net. He looked to his left before crossing the ball to Colin Brios waiting on the edge of the 18. Biros looked toward the goal, aimed and fired a shot that sailed over the crossbar.
Earlier in the second half, Biros connected a set piece, scoring his first goal with the Orange and SU’s first regular-season goal of the season.
“It was set piece notes, set play that we do all the time,” Biros said. “Practice it all the time. Deandre is a natural attacker. So I know how to get to that spot, that usual spot.”
But SU’s main offensive weapon crouched down to the floor later in the final period, gripping his right foot with an apparent injury. He was substituted out of the game following the assessment.
After Kerr’s departure, young stars Leibold, a freshman from Germany, and Biros, a transfer from the University of Akron, carried Syracuse’s offense with four combined shots, bringing Syracuse’s total shot count to 16 through 80 minutes. Drexel didn’t score once.
After the final whistle, teammates carried Kerr off the sidelines — a bag of ice tapped around his right ankle.
In the season opener, Singelmann came off of the sidelines and lifted Syracuse to victory with two assists. Two newcomers also found the back of the net to propel the Orange, and despite leaving the game due to injury, Kerr leaned on his teammates to carry the Orange to victory.
“First game of the season, we’ve been off for a while — both teams.” McIntyre said, “It was a good, combative, competitive Division-I game … Second half, we kind of managed to be able to get on top, but you’ve got to meet and exceed the level of physicality of the opponent.”
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