Alex Bono called it one of the worst plays he has made in his entire soccer career.

Stuck in a scoreless grudge match against North Carolina on Friday night, Bono whiffed on a clearing attempt, handing the Tar Heels possession, and eventually the game’s only goal. The normally reliable Bono will get a chance to redeem himself as the Orange (8-5-1, 2-5-1 Atlantic Coast) visits Albany (3-8-3, 1-2-1 America East) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Bob Ford Field.

“Alex has been very good for us in his first couple of years in college,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “It’s the nature of the beast. Alex realizes that as a goalkeeper he’s going to be the hero and sometimes he’s not.

“I’m sure there will be times during the remainder of the season where we will need a little bit of brilliance from the big fella and I’m sure he’ll come through.”

On that play against North Carolina, Bono sent a short breakout pass to defender Chris Makowski. The junior Makowski was quickly pressured, and sent a return pass to Bono. The normally sure-handed keeper botched the clear, and Tar Heels forward Tyler Engel picked up the ball. Two passes later, UNC forward Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler placed the ball in the bottom right of the net.

“It was just a routine pass that we’re used to making and unfortunately it hit a bounce,” Makowski said. “It’s one of those things that you have to just forget about.”

Bono said Makowski’s pass was fine and that he just took his eye off the ball for a second.

“It’s not something that I would like to be a usual occurrence, nor is it a usual occurrence,” Bono said. “When it happened the guys were supportive, they picked me up. They knew that it’s not a mistake I make very often.”

The uncharacteristic play against UNC is a single blip on the radar of an otherwise brilliant year and a half at Syracuse for the Baldwinsville product.

There was the 1-0 shutout against Connecticut on Sept. 17, in which Bono had five saves and outdueled Huskies goalkeeper Andre Blake, who TopDrawerSoccer.com ranks as the NCAA’s top keeper.

There was SU’s first-ever ACC victory against Duke on Sept. 20. Though Bono conceded a goal in the 2-1 win, he fended off several Blue Devils attempts to tie the game. The sophomore made two saves in the opening period, including one in the 36th minute to stand off a dangerous attack.

Not to mention the stellar performance against Georgetown in last year’s Sweet 16. With SU leading 1-0, Bono made diving saves in the 72nd and 81st minutes to keep SU ahead. Georgetown took 16 shots in regulation, and was only able to put one by the then-freshman keeper.

Especially with a quick turnaround, the team will put Bono’s misplay and the overall team loss quickly behind them.

“Having stuff like that to not focus on, not letting bad things linger, is important so you can move on and progress,” Makowski said.

Bono agreed, saying that he especially focused his Saturday and Monday practice sessions on footwork, getting to the ball and kicking. The keeper compared his repetitions at practice this week to a kicker making 20 to 30 50-yard field goals in practice before doing it in a game.

“They tell goalkeepers that they need a short memory,” Bono said. “You’ve got to get rid of saves quickly, but also get rid of accidents quickly. Because the next ball’s coming and you’re going to be involved in the next play.”

Yes, he made a glaring mistake, but Bono has also made numerous key saves that have led to SU wins. Bono has six shutouts this year, and his 16 total rank him fourth on the all-time SU list. Those around Bono know what he’s capable of, and are sure he’ll bounce back from the mistake.

Said Bono: “I can promise that that type of incident won’t happen again.”

Published on October 21, 2013 at 10:26 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu