Less than a month into life as an American soccer player, Andreas Jenssen has found himself in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

Minutes after substituting into Friday’s game, he tried to get open downfield but slipped and fell on his back. He stood up and wiped off his muddy hand, blankly staring at the fresh divot in the ground.

As Syracuse formed its customary running-in-place circle before the second-half kickoff, Jenssen blindly turned around to sprint to his position and immediately bumped into the passing referee.

The bumbling 5-foot-7 Jenssen has very much played the part of a freshman displaced across the Atlantic Ocean from his home in Lommendalen, Norway.

But with snapshots of clumsiness has come a learning curve that he’s adapted to, already garnering appreciation from his teammates for his relentless, cerebral style of play.

“I like to call him a little bulldog,” midfielder Liam Callahan said.

Jenssen is one of a select few head coach Ian McIntyre has called upon to enter games off the bench, usually slotting him into the center midfield. It’s a role he’s comfortably settled into after a “culture shock” admittedly got the best of him as an initial starter for SU who was playing in Norway two weeks prior to his first game.

The second shortest player on the Orange isn’t trying to fool opponents with overbearing strength — he acknowledged he can’t contribute so much on long balls.

But he’s been able to lean back on his short, simple passing game to help the ball flow through the midfield.

It was the only thing he could focus on in his debut against Georgetown — a game he hardly remembers.

“I was nervous, so I just wanted to make secure passes,” Jenssen said. “I wanted to impress and show a good first impression. I just remember running a lot.”

He’s had to come to grips with a faster-paced American style of soccer — a product of unlimited substitutions allowing coaches to enter and re-enter rested players who come at you “100 miles per hour.”

Emphasis on tempo of the game has forced Jenssen to rethink how elaborate he can be with his technique, and instead focus on the quickest move he can make. When receiving a throw-in against Pittsburgh on Friday, Jenssen immediately settled the ball to his feet.

Instead of turning and attempting a play in the box, he quickly dished it off to midfielder Oyvind Alseth. He used his superior angle to the goal and launched a cross to the center of the box that resulted in a Noah Rhynhart goal.

“You kind of need to be thrown into (the game),” Jenssen said. “You can only learn so much from practice, you really need to experience the game.

“It’s totally different.”

In the Orange’s 5-0 win over the Panthers, Jenssen was subbed in for midfielder Korab Syla with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Immediately, Jenssen took over duties commanding the central midfield, pushing Alseth out wide to cover the territory Syla once was.

The result was offensive fireworks — a season-high five goals for the Orange and three assists from Alseth in his newfound spot on the wing. Jenssen didn’t get his name on the scoresheet, but the domino effect of the scoring was rooted in his entrance into the game.

He’s the unexpected trump card McIntyre has been able to play this season to maintain fluidity in his offense, despite the slippery ground or errant referees in his way.

“He’s a player we talk about joining the dots — a smart guy that can keep the ball moving,” McIntyre said. “He’s sees the next pass.”

Published on September 28, 2015 at 9:07 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman