The Yale men’s soccer team made a strong statement in its season opener on the road at Syracuse. The Bulldogs earned a 1-1 draw with the Orange, a perennial top tier ACC squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

“Really proud of the guys for such a gritty performance and a quality result on the road against a top-25, NCAA Tournament team,” said Kylie Stannard, The 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. “They’re a very good side and will win a lot of games this year.”

Miguel Yuste scored for the Bulldogs with assists from Mark Winhoffer and Andrew Sady-Kennedy.

Syracuse, already playing its third game of the season, struck first when Simon Triantafillou scored at 34:02.

The Bulldogs, though, tied it early in the second half on Yuste’s goal.

Both teams had scoring opportunities the rest of the way but couldn’t capitalize.

“We started the game on top and we were unfortunate not to find an early goal,” Stannard said. “Syracuse did well to adjust, and we lost a little confidence. However, we made a couple of adjustments at the half and told the guys to be more calm and confident. They executed well, and we were the better team in the second half.”

Goalkeeper Elian Haddock was strong for the Bulldogs, finishing with five saves.

“We were deserving of the result, and the guys can learn and build confidence from this performance as we prepare for a really good Colgate team,” Stannard said.

Yale faces the Raiders on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y. Colgate played a scoreless tie with No. 22 New Hampshire on Friday.

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