Syracuse is playing the teams it wants to emulate. As the Orange pushes toward formidability, it faces opponents who have already reached that plateau.

SU (1-1-1) lost its second game of the season, 2-0, to then-No. 9 Penn State last week. On Monday, Syracuse will face Connecticut (3-1) in its home opener at SU Soccer Stadium. UConn received 19 votes in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Coaches Poll, and playing nationally recognized teams is helping the Orange ascend the college soccer ranks.

The Huskies have reached the NCAA tournament 28 times in the past 34 years. Syracuse hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2001. In head-to-head match-ups, UConn is 18-1. While the rivalry has been one-sided, the Orange relishes playing against one of the nation’s best programs.

“We’ll be up for that game for sure.” SU head coach Phil Wheddon said. “It’s about controlling the emotions and playing our way.”

Despite SU’s troubles against the Huskies, Wheddon still considers Monday’s meeting a rivalry game. The two teams have played annually dating back to 1997 when they were both in the Big East.

Syracuse’s only win against UConn came in 2012 when Jackie Firenze scored the game-winning goal with 30 seconds remaining. The Huskies will be returning to SU Soccer Stadium for the first time since that loss.

“They’re coming back here and we don’t want to have them come in and stand a chance with us.” senior Hanna Strong said. “We just want to go forward and prove how good of a team we are this year.”

Though the Orange moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013, the rivalry has stayed alive in nonconference play. Both Wheddon and Firenze said that the rivalry has always been fierce throughout its history and they expect it to stay that way on Monday.

Adding to the matchup is Megan Hunsberger, who transferred to UConn after playing all 19 games for the Orange in 2013. Hunsberger has torn her ACL in each of her knees throughout her soccer career and missed the 2012 season after tearing her left ACL in October of 2011.

Through Connecticut’s first four games, Hunsberger started twice but didn’t appear in the other two games.

“We’re more focused on how UConn plays as a whole and how our team as a whole will play against them.” Firenze said. “So yeah, we have our coach do scouting reports and we adjust to that and we play the way we want to play.”

Due to the frequent meetings between Syracuse and Connecticut, Wheddon said he is familiar with UConn’s tendencies. Wheddon mentioned Rachel Hill at forward, and Riley Houle and Julie Hubbard at midfield as players that could cause the Orange trouble, but said that it’s about playing the Huskies as a team, rather than its multiple individual stars.

Following SU’s win over Connecticut in 2012, Wheddon said it was the biggest win in program history. Two years later, Syracuse is still looking to continue its upward climb.

“We feel that we’re now taking that next step to a high-profile team and we look forward to playing them.” Wheddon said. “It will be a good game.”

Published on August 31, 2014 at 4:13 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds