Ted Cribley could tell his teammates needed a break.

After a loss in Cincinnati on Sept. 29, Syracuse returned to SU Soccer Stadium for two more games that week. The end of that two-game home stand — a 2-1 loss to Louisville — showed the Syracuse team captain that the Orange needed some time off the pitch to recover.

“Against Louisville, we were a bit fatigued,” Cribley said. “That’s certainly natural at this point in the season, so (we used last) week to recover.”

Cribley and the team hope that week off gave Syracuse (10-4, 3-2 Big East) enough rest to last for another grueling stretch. After last weekend’s road victory over South Florida, the team will play three games and have to travel twice over the course of nine days, including Wednesday’s contest against Villanova (10-2-2, 2-0-2).

From there, SU will play its last home game against DePaul on Oct. 20 before concluding the season with another road game against St. John’s in Queens, N.Y., on Oct. 26. As divisional teams are jockeying for position in postseason play, SU can’t surrender to the sort of fatigue it felt after the Louisville game.

“We have a goal and we’re gunning for it,” sophomore defender Jordan Murrell said. “You can’t afford to be tired at this point in the season with the Big East tournament so close.”

Maintaining a high level of play is even more important for Murrell and his teammates in a tightly contested division. Two of SU’s remaining opponents are right behind Syracuse in the Big East’s Red division, and Wednesday’s opponent — Villanova — trails SU by only one point.

With “crunch time” in full effect, head coach Ian McIntyre deployed a pressing strategy against South Florida that helped the team earn a much-needed win. And as SU’s next heavy slate of games draws near, McIntyre plans on sticking to that aggressive strategy — even though it may tire some of his players out.

“I think as the year winds down, we have to be playing our best, aggressive soccer,” McIntyre said. “You can’t do that without your legs underneath you, so we’ll manage that the best we can with the quick three games coming up.”

Even after the South Florida win, McIntyre stuck to a two-fold plan to keep his Syracuse players both rested and focused for that upcoming three-game stretch.

Cribley said the team reemphasized its strength and conditioning regimen to make sure it could maintain the type of energy in did against the Bulls. And McIntyre let veteran players like Cribley keep things light as afternoon practices progressed to preserve the momentum of SU’s last win.

McIntyre said his team responded to both favorably. More Syracuse players committed to practices that stressed quick touches and stretching to “keep loose,” and he could tell that more players were having fun in the afternoons.

Getting the chance to joke around with teammates helped Murrell, who said he noticed that a lighter mood helped refocus the team before its next stretch of games. And he said having one stretch of busy games — which culminated with that tiring Louisville home loss — taught the Orange what to avoid as it starts its next, and last, rough patch against the Wildcats on Wednesday.

“Games come thick and fast this time of year, so it was great to have some rest,” McIntyre said. “But we know what’s at stake, and we’re a resilient bunch. We can’t be tired this time around.”

Published on October 17, 2012 at 12:12 am

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets