After Syracuse completed the first game of a three-game win streak, a dominant road win over Akron, there was little celebration. In the four games prior, SU went to two-straight double overtimes and then set out on a two-game road trip, ending with the Orange’s matchup with the Zips. It was 10 p.m. and, with a six and a half hour bus ride ahead of them, players just wanted to sleep.

As Jonathan Hagman faded in and out, the reminders were all around him about what had just happened a few hours earlier, whether he wanted them or not. Ryan Raposo, who head coach Ian McIntyre said has a tendency to “bounce off the walls,” woke Hagman up a few times and looked for every opportunity to yell: “Hat trick hero!”

“I hadn’t been scoring,” Hagman said. “It was a relief to get the first goal in the net. Then … two more.”

Syracuse (6-4-1, 1-3-0 Atlantic Coast) has opened up its offense by moving Hagman forward in its formation. Formerly in a more defensive role — an assignment he said he wasn’t exactly used to — the Orange has switched its lineup to emphasize scoring and creating offensive chances and the results have showed. Against the Zips, the midfielder scored three goals. In the ensuing games, SU’s offense has followed.

Over the course of SU’s three-game win streak, the Orange have scored eight goals, their most over a three-game stretch this season by two scores. Syracuse, previously a bottom-dweller in ACC scoring, is now tied for fourth in the conference with 20 goals. The Orange’s three games leading up to the matchup with the Zips produced just one goal, as SU dropped two of three matches. The two losses were to then-No. 22 Virginia and Virginia Tech, both ACC opponents.

But against Akron, with Raposo out of the lineup after sustaining an ankle injury at the end of Syracuse’s road loss to Virginia Tech, McIntyre decided to shift Hagman forward. The senior scored his first goal off a deflection on a shot by Tajon Buchanan. Then another off a Buchanan attempt. The third, deflected again, was off a sliding shot from Severin Soerlie. Hagman said there’s no way to practice it. You can’t prepare for them. They don’t happen often, and when they do you just have to follow up. Though he doesn’t think he’s exhausted his quota for tip-in goals, Raposo noted that it was just “(Hagman’s) day.”

“I told Tajon, ‘You should just shoot it and I’ll be there to take the rebound,’” Hagman joked.

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With Hagman shifted up, the Orange rotated Djimon Johnson back to take the defensive-minded role in the midfield that Hagman formerly held. The Orange have experimented quite a bit with their offense. Against then-No. 1 Wake Forest, in SU’s upset win, the Orange started four back on defense but made an effort to push players forward with Hagman and midfielder Massimo Ferrin starting beyond midfield. Ferrin, who has also been a benefactor of Hagman’s shift, scored two goals against Ohio State.

Hagman said the move gave him more “freedom” to make an impact on offense. While he feels he created chances earlier in the year, the shift to a more offensive role allowed him to be in the “right place at the right time” when the Orange have threatened close to the opposing goal.

McIntyre knew Hagman had the capability to score goals — he has 13 in his four-year career at Syracuse — but it was just a matter of “finding the balance.” Though Hagman seems to be firmly into his new role, McIntyre said that the formation will vary among future matchups after SU’s win over Ohio State.

Reminded about the ride home from Akron, Hagman laughed. He said he wasn’t annoyed with Raposo, even when he was woken up. Going back to sleep was easy.

“I couldn’t really get mad that night,” Hagman laughed.

Published on October 10, 2018 at 12:02 am

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary