SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Chris Nanco scored a pair of goals and No. 6/8 Syracuse dealt Colgate its first loss of the season in a 3-0 decision here Thursday.
 
The Orange led 1-0 at the half on Nanco's 23rd-minute penalty kick. Nanco scored his second from even closer range in the dying minutes when the Raider defense broke down and handed Syracuse an excuse-me goal.
 
In between, Syracuse executed a nifty give-and-go that saw Johannes Pieles set up Kenny Lassiter for a 2-0 Orange lead in the 56th minute.
 
The goals were the first scored against the Raiders all season after a pair of shutout victories on home turf. Syracuse won its fourth straight in the series and pulled within 31-29-11 of the Raiders.
 
Colgate continues a three-game road set with a Sunday evening match at Monmouth. Start time is 7 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
· Syracuse 3, Colgate 0
 
Won-Lost Records
· Colgate is now 2-1-0.
· Syracuse improved to 3-0-0.
 
First-Half Recap
· Colgate had the better of play in the early going as Tim Oberg left-footed one off the left post in the fifth minute.
· Then Uyi Omorogbe turned in a nifty move along the left end line and dealt a beautiful centering pass in the seventh minute, but no one was home.
· Syracuse's first best chance came in the 17th minute when Kamal Miller corralled a throw-in and shot just wide to the left of goal.
· That play signaled a momentum change and resulted soon thereafter in the game's first goal.
· Nanco gained possession on the right edge of the penalty area and was brought down.
· He converted the penalty kick into the right corner as Colgate goalkeeper Ricky Brown went the other way, and the Orange led 1-0 in the 23rd minute.
· Colgate earned the game's first corner in the 37th minute but couldn't convert.
· The Raiders nearly beat the halftime horn after Jared Stroud's long free kick deep into the box, but Syracuse's Hendrik Hilpert got his hands on the ball first and the Orange ran out the first-half clock.
 
Second-Half Recap
· Syracuse posted a good chance about nine minutes in after Colin O'Neill's run and centering pass.
· It led to a corner but no harm for the Raiders.
· The give-and-go between Pieles and Lassiter made it 2-0 in the 56th minute. The goal for Lassiter was his second.
· A great diving save in the 63rd minute by Colgate's Ricky Brown stopped what would have been an own goal and a 3-0 Orange lead.
· It was a highlight play, for sure.
· The teams traded decent chances around the 70-minute mark, with Ethan Kutler for Colgate and Adnan Bakalovic firing high from mid-range.
· With the Raiders pressing forward and still 10 minutes remaining, first Zach Tamen and then Oberg had chances on goal thwarted.
· Syracuse finally sealed it when Nanco scored his second of the game and third of the season in the 85th minute.
 
Facts & Figures
· Syracuse put together a 9-6 edge in shots, while Colgate worked for eight corner kicks to four for the hosts.
· Colgate shots were taken by Kutler (2), Oberg (2), Omorogbe and Kentaro Morrison.
· Saves were even 2-2, as were offside calls.

From the Source
Head Coach Erik Ronning – "Today was a game that made us better. We played against a top team in the country, we were with them every step of the way, we were unfortunate in a number of instances and I couldn't be more proud of our guys' effort and their mentality and a lot of their quality.
 
"We just played a very good team and a couple of things just didn't go our way today."
 
Listen to the rest of Ronning's comments HERE.
 
Up Next
· Colgate continues a three-game road set Sunday night at Monmouth. Start time is 7 p.m.
· It's the first meeting between the programs.