Syracuse men’s soccer continued its strong start to the season Monday night, overwhelming Iona from the opening whistle on the way to a 4-0 victory at the SU Soccer Stadium.
The Orange needed just 70 seconds to find the breakthrough. Buster Honeywood finished a pass from Bryson Rodriguez to give Syracuse an early advantage, and Rodriguez added a goal of his own in the 11th minute after receiving a setup from Kristjan Fortier.
Syracuse carried its two-goal advantage into halftime before continuing to apply pressure after the break. Landon Darko extended the lead with an assist from Sachiel Ming, and Pedro Gulli capped the scoring later in the match by converting Rodriguez’s third assist of the night.
The Orange controlled virtually every aspect of the contest, finishing with a 23-5 edge in shots and putting 13 attempts on target compared with just one for Iona. Syracuse also earned 13 corner kicks while allowing only two.
Sophomore goalkeeper Juan Martinez-Bastidas made his Syracuse debut and was called upon to make just one save as the Orange defense kept Iona from generating consistent opportunities in front of goal.
The victory moved Syracuse to 3-1 on the season and gave the Orange another strong performance before turning their attention to conference play.
Syracuse will open Atlantic Coast Conference competition Friday when it hosts No. 13 Clemson at the SU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.