Michael Malone scored his first collegiate goal against the Orange.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse scored three unanswered goals in a 12:48 span in the middle of the contest to claim a 3-1 victory over Niagara at the Syracuse Soccer Complex in the season opener for both teams.

The Orange scored with under two minutes to play in the first half and twice in the opening 11:44 of the second to secure the win. Syracuse, with the victory, earns back-to-back season-opening wins since equaling the feat in the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The Purple Eagles are still in search of their first win in a season opener since 1988.

"We had mental lapses in the middle of the game that cost us three goals," said Niagara head coach Dermot McGrane. "We simply can’t afford to make those mistakes against good teams. I’m pleased, however, with the fact that we did not give up and kept playing until the final whistle."

The Orange took a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute on a counter attack after Niagara earned a free kick in the Syracuse defensive end. Kyle Hall finished off the goal from Jim Linus on a sliding shot from the right corner.

The advantage was increased to two goals 5:34 into the second half as freshman Hansen Woodruff recorded his first career tally. Six minutes and 10 seconds later, the Orange took a 3-0 lead with Isaac Collings’ header finding the net.

In the final 15 minutes, the Purple Eagles pressured the Orange defense and finally were rewarded in the 86th minute when freshman Michael Malone (Rochester, N.Y.) took a pass from classmate Danny Lobene (Rochester, N.Y.) from roughly 25 yards out and found the top left-hand corner of the net past Orange goalkeeper Robert Cavicchia for his first goal as a Purple Eagle.

Niagara continued to attack the Orange goal and nearly picked up its second with just under a minute to play when midfielder Stephen Kauble (Canal Winchester, Ohio) took a shot that was deflected on goal by Kwame Oduro (Toronto, Ont.) but somehow denied by Calvicchia.

The Purple Eagles next travel to California for the Cal-Irvine College Classic next weekend. Niagara plays the host Cal-Irvine Anteaters on Sept. 2 at 10:30 p.m., and Santa Clara on Sept. 4 at a time to be determined.

Scoring Summary:

Niagara 0 1 1

Syracuse 1 2 3

1. 43:56 SYR Hall, Kyle (Linus, Jim).

2. 50:34 SYR Woodruff, Hansen (Collings, Isaac).

3. 56:44 SYR Collings, Isaac (Martinez, Luis, Woodruff, Hansen)

4. 85:15 NIA Malone, Michael (Lobene, Danny)

Shots: Niagara 9, Syracuse 18

Saves: Niagara 2 (McKenna, James), Syracuse 4 (Cavicchia, Robert)