SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Syracuse men''s soccer team (1-1-0) scored two early goals and defeated Canisius, 2-1, in its home opener on Thursday, Sept. 1 at the SU Soccer Stadium. Freshman Skylar Thomas and senior Federico Agreda scored in the span of 2:20 in the opening half to lead the Orange to its first victory of the season. Syracuse came out firing early in the first half. In the 11th minute, senior Nick Roydhouse sent a corner kick towards the goal. Canisius junior goalkeeper Kareem Gray could not handle the ball and Thomas headed in the rebound to record his first career goal and give SU a 1-0 advantage. Less than three minutes later, junior Ted Cribley crossed the ball into the box. Senior Dan Summers collected the pass and fed Agreda, who fired it past Gray for his first career tally and a 2-0 Orange lead. That''s how the score remained until the latter stages of the second half. The Golden Griffins (0-3-0) managed to close the gap to 2-1, recording a goal off a penalty kick in the 77th minute. Canisius junior Jared Ott put the ball past Orange goalkeeper Phil Boerger for the team''s lone tally after an SU foul in the penalty area. Despite conceding a goal, the Orange successfully defended for the remainder of the contest to close out the Golden Griffins. Boerger finished with two saves in the match to collect his first win as an SU goalkeeper. Gray did not make a save Thursday. He was replaced in the Canisius net in the second half by sophomore Ryan Arvin, who stopped two shots in the last 45 minutes of play to help keep the Golden Griffins within striking distance. Syracuse returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 4 when it travels to Siena for its second straight game against an opponent from the MAAC. Game time is set for 12 p.m. at the Siena Turf Field. Match Notes: Syracuse improved to 13-3-0 in home openers at the SU Soccer Stadium, including a 2-0 mark against Canisius … Freshman Hugh Pringle made his collegiate debut coming on as a substitute in the second half … Cribley and Summers both recorded their first points in an Orange uniform with assists on Agreda’s goal.