Syracuse defender Skylar Thomas walked slowly toward the corner of Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium with his jersey pulled over his head and his hands covering his face. Louisville defender Jerry Ramirez sprinted by with his arms held wide.

Ramirez’s overtime goal this past Friday sealed a 2-1 Cardinals victory and handed SU its first loss in more than a month in the first game the Orange conceded more than one goal this season.

Though SU’s 10 shutouts and five goals allowed this season put it among the country’s defensive elite, the Orange has steadily slowed its historic pace. Syracuse has relented four goals in its last four games, but the Syracuse defenders see three wins in those four games.

On Tuesday, No. 2 Syracuse (12-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) returns to SU Soccer Stadium for a 7 p.m. matchup against Bucknell (6-8, 2-3 Patriot) looking to regain the defensive form that took it from being unranked to among the country’s best with three weeks to go before the ACC tournament.

“If you would have said at the beginning of the year you’re going to play Albany, UConn, Wake Forest and Louisville and you’re going to win three of those games, I wouldn’t have given a monkey’s,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said before pausing, “on if we would have conceded goals.

“Having said that, because we’ve been so dominant, that’s why there’s a question. But it’s no reflection (on us).”

Of the five goals SU has allowed this season, two have been on set pieces — Notre Dame scored on a redirected free kick, and Louisville’s game-winner in overtime came the same way, off a free kick from 35 yards out.

The Cardinals’ first goal came outside the run of play — on a penalty kick goal after Jordan Murrell was called for a handball in the box.

But McIntyre called Syracuse’s last four games — home against Albany and Wake Forest and on the road against Connecticut and Louisville — a brutal stretch.

“(A loss) was definitely not something the team’s used to,” defender Tyler Hilliard said. “That whole night, people were kind of down. But it’s interesting because it was a good test for us and now we get to bounce back and see how we respond.”

Against WFU on Oct. 10, the Orange allowed a goal with three minutes left to squander what would’ve been its 10th shutout of the season. Demon Deacon’s forward Hank Gauger fired the ball just under the crossbar and past SU goalkeeper Alex Bono from 8 yards out.

“I was disappointed, especially because I thought there was maybe one or two things that I could have done to prevent the goal,” Hilliard said. “But we look at it, learn from it and prepare for the next game.”

Thomas said the team isn’t concerned with its recent performances and just needs to focus on playing a complete 90 minutes.

But the Demon Deacons are second in the ACC in goals.

Syracuse has also been without left winger Liam Callahan, a reliable defensive presence, since the midway point of the first half against Wake Forest.

On Tuesday Syracuse faces what McIntyre called a quality team in Bucknell.

“Sometimes after a loss it’s good to have a game quickly afterwards,” McIntyre said. “We’ll put the ACC away for a few days and what we’ll do is we’ll concentrate on a good Bucknell team that’s had some success in recent years.

“We know we’ve got our hands full.”

Published on October 21, 2014 at 12:10 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu