Revenge is sweet. Even if it comes 27 years later in a preseason tuneup. 

On Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron, Ohio, Syracuse midfielder Nick Parea scored with three seconds remaining in regulation to lift Syracuse to a 2-1 victory over No. 13 Akron. In the two teams’ only other meeting — in 1987 — the final score was reversed.

And despite being a scrimmage, the victory was also extra sweet for SU coaches Ian McIntyre and Jukka Masalin. The two previously coached together at Hartwick, and fell to the Zips on several occasions.  

“If you can find ways to win games like this in a tough environment like Akron, the guys certainly enjoyed it,” said McIntyre. “I do think (Nick’s goal) was the reward of a collective performance. I thought Nicky was outstanding for the entire 90 minutes.”

Until the latter stages of the second half, it looked as if Syracuse would prevail with a 1-0 victory. 

Sophomore Emil Ekblom’s goal in the 51st minute gave the Orange a 1-0 lead. The  goal, a diving header in the middle of the box, came on a chip pass from fellow sophomore Chris Nanco and was the game’s only tally until Zips forward Saad Abdul-Salaam evened the score in the 75th minute.

“You know, to bring in players with the quality of Emil and Chris off the bench…,” said McIntyre, who brought on the sophomore duo in the 23rd minute. “I think Emil is one of the best in the country as a skilled finisher.”

Akron played to a 17-4-1 record last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, but on Friday SU bested one of the country’s most consistent programs. 

“If we don’t capitalize on it on Friday against Niagara, it will mean very little,” McIntyre said regarding his team’s opener at SU Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m. on Aug. 29. “Having said that … I think today was good for the guys to come in to a tough environment. 

“Akron has been one of the elite programs in the country for a number of years.”

Published on August 22, 2014 at 10:58 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu