Tajon Buchanan ran to the corner of the field, the same one that he performed a backflip on just over a month ago. Back then, he celebrated giving Syracuse a 4-3 lead against Hofstra in the late minutes of the game. Tuesday, his celebration was more subdued. He put his thumb and pointer finger together to form a circle and raised his three other fingers in the air.

They matched the amount of goals he scored against St. Bonaventure, giving him his first hat trick since high school. But he didn’t care to celebrate like he did a month ago. Instead, let his teammates celebrate for him and the crowd later applaud for him as he was subbed out of a game that had quickly gotten out of hand.

“My job is to score goals,” Buchanan said, “and that’s what I did tonight.”

His performance led the Orange (7-4-2, 1-3-1 Atlantic Coast) past the Bonnies (5-7-1, 2-3 Atlantic 10), 7-0 at SU Soccer Stadium on Tuesday. The game marks the first time Syracuse had scored seven goals since 1990, when it defeated Niagara, 7-1, and broke an SU Soccer Stadium goals record. The win concluded SU’s nonconference slate in which it won six games, setting up the Orange for its last three ACC games of the year.

SU’s next three games come during the final week of the season which us more congested because the Orange’s game against Clemson was postponed earlier in the season. It’s a “grueling stretch,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said, but one made easier thanks to Buchanan’s play of late.

“He gives us another option up front,” McIntyre said. “I’m glad he got that early one and got the hat trick second half, we’re delighted for him.”

Buchanan’s three goals give him five in his last two games after scoring each of Syracuse’s two goals against Lousiville on Friday. The two against the Cardinals were his first since he backflipped against Hofstra, a span of 40 days in between scores.

A left knee strain kept him out two games in the middle of September and a red card against then-No. 1 Wake Forest caused him to miss a game against Ohio State last week. Since his suspension, he’s tallied 10 points in two games, half of his team-leading total on the season.

“The kid’s an absolute beast,” said Hilli Goldhar. “It’s been tough for him…but we know how good he is, and he’s proving it every game now.”

The first score of the game came off the head of Sondre Norheim, just four minutes into the contest. Off a corner kick from Hugo Delhommelle, Norheim snuck the ball past the goalkeeper to put the Orange on the board. Just over a minute later, Buchanan began to dominate.

The Bonnies attempted to play the ball to their keeper to clear the ball back out to midfield, but it never reached him. Buchanan intercepted the pass and dribbled towards the goal, with just the St. Bonaventure keeper to beat. The sophomore had no trouble converting, doubling SU’s lead after sending the ball through the legs of the goalie.

“(We) just got after them,” Buchanan said. “Coach always says those are the easy ones. I just ran in behind and was able to finish.”

The 2-0 lead in the first five minutes “set the tone for the game,” McIntyre said. Then SU broke the game open. It took Buchanan just 11 minutes to find the goal again, after Massimo Ferrin’s feed from the right side of the field found him in the box. The score was called off because Ferrin was offsides, but that didn’t stop Buchanan from another strike.

Five minutes later, Simon Triantafillou saw Buchanan streaking in front of the goal in the same place that the score was called off. A St. Bonaventure defender stood between him and the net, but the gap was quickly erased. Triantafillou’s lob feed led Buchanan, who dusted his defender and corralled the pass before he scored his second goal of the game.

Buchanan’s third goal came 15 minutes into the second half and two minutes after Julio Fulcar’s goal gave Syracuse a 4-0 lead. Goldhar controlled the ball in the middle of the field before spotting Buchanan, who was tightly covered by a Bonnie defender.

“I picked my head up, saw him back post and just figured, ‘Okay, I’ll send it in there. See what happens,’” Goldhar said. “I’m not surprised with the end result.”

The goal sent Buchanan back to the same corner where he’d celebrated much more spectacularly earlier in the season. But he’s on a different run now, and so is the team. The Orange are playing their best soccer of the season and letting their play, rather than their celebrations, illustrate it.

“We’re on a roll right now,” Buchanan said. “We beat Wake, got a result against Louisville, it shows we can beat any team in the country. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Published on October 16, 2018 at 9:03 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34