With a defender jostling at his side and the Dartmouth goalkeeper charging, Julian Buescher didn’t have time to think about the move he was going to make. In almost an instant, he spun 360 degrees with the ball along the right goal line to get past the defender and dished a pass to a wide-open Louis Cross in front of the net.

Cross knocked the ball into the goal past two Dartmouth players who lunged at the shot, putting Syracuse ahead 2-1.

“I got lucky that my head decided to do something good,” Buescher said.

The sophomore was dancing around the field Sunday, weaving through traffic and generating chances for the Orange. He led SU with four shots and two on goal, but it was his two assists that helped No. 6 seed Syracuse (14-5-3, 3-4-1 Atlantic Coast) come back and hold off Dartmouth (12-6-1, 6-1 Ivy), 2-1, at SU Soccer Stadium in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

For the third time in four years, the Orange will advance to third round of the tournament. It will face the winner of UCLA at No. 11 seed Seattle next Sunday, Nov. 29, at 1 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium.

“This is three Sweet 16s in the last four years,” McIntyre said. “Not many programs out there can say that.”

Within the first 20 minutes, SU threatened inside Dartmouth’s penalty area at least 12 times, but recorded only one shot, a weak kick by Buescher from about 20 yards away that bounced lightly to the keeper.

In a span of five minutes, Buescher had one pass blocked, lost the ball after knocking it between a defender’s legs and fed forward Chris Nanco for a shot that was blocked. Each of the three chances came within 18 yards of the Dartmouth goal.

“Our ball movement was good, we just needed a bit of improved quality into the box,” McIntyre said. “… We didn’t create as much as we’ve done in some of the other games.”

Each time Syracuse got within striking distance, cries of “shoot it” from the Orange fans rang through the air. Dartmouth’s defense, which had allowed just 11 goals all year coming into the game, packed its defenders into the box.

Then came the Orange’s wake up call. Darmouth’s Matt Greer intercepted Cross’ pass and fed a ball to a streaking Justin Donawa. He popped the ball into the air and volleyed it softly past Orange goalie Hendrik Hilpert, who had charged slightly.

“Dartmouth was a really good team today,” SU midfielder Liam Callahan said. “They took it to us at times. They had the counterattack.”

The unranked Big Green was leading the ACC champions — if only for three minutes.

Again Buescher found himself with the ball near the penalty area. This time, instead of trying to take on a pack of defenders, he passed to forward Ben Polk. Polk turned right and fired a shot off the crossbar and in from about 7 yards away to tie the game at one.

All game long, the ball was running through Buescher and the shape of SU’s offensive attacks relied much on what he decided, consciously or not, to do with it.

“We have no idea what he’s doing, so hopefully he does,” McIntyre joked.

All season long, Buescher has been the quarterback of SU’s offense. His 10 assists lead the team and his 26 points are tied for the lead. He’s often had to be the hero to help the Orange escape on the winning end.

After the game, he sat at a table in the Ensley Athletic Center, telling a group of reporters about an article he read, which said that players only use 10 percent of their brains while they play.

“I mean if at least 10 percent works then it’s a good thing,” Buescher said. “It worked out pretty well.”

Published on November 22, 2015 at 4:16 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus