Kenny Lassiter first subbed into Sunday night’s game against Loyola Marymount in the 29th minute, replacing Johannes Pieles with Syracuse leading 1-0. The minute he stepped on the field, he made an impact.

At first, he drew oohs and aahs from the crowd with some nifty footwork. On one, Lassiter faked to the right then turned in quickly, leaving two LMU defenders still looking for him on the right. Later on, when he was right outside the penalty box, he again turned inside to his left and in one quick motion launched a powerful strike towards goal.

The shot flew high, but it was evident that Lassiter was applying pressure on the Lions’ defense every time he played. Still, he was back on the bench to start the second half with Pieles in his spot.

“The guy who started ahead of him scored the game-winner and scored two goals,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “Kenny’s been awesome. It’s a good problem to have.”

No. 6 Syracuse (2-0) has two talented forward in Lassiter and Pieles, who play two different styles. But with SU’s base 3-5-2 formation and with speedy senior Chris Nanco already locked into another forward position, there’s only room for one of them at a time. They both figure to play a prominent role for the Orange this season.

Their builds are similar — Lassiter has one inch and seven pounds on Pieles, and they’re the only two forwards who eclipse the 6-foot mark. Their styles are noticeably different, though.

Lassiter is strong and works in quick, powerful and sudden bursts. Pieles is more fluid in his running motion, taking long strides while remaining nimble around the ball. He’s also still learning and finding his way as he adjusts to American college soccer.

“It was very tough for me at first to get settled because the game is very different at Europe compared to the US,” Pieles said through interpreter and SU goalie Hendrik Hilpert. “It’s much more physical here.”

The two different styles seem to work well off one another. Lions defenders started resorting to using more physical play to knock Pieles off the ball. But when Lassiter came in, he was stronger than most of those defenders, the extra physicality not really affecting him.

Pieles scored the game-winning goal in the second 10-minute sudden death overtime, but it was Lassiter who got to play the first 10-minute frame, when SU got off four shots and three corners.

McIntyre stressed that Lassiter will be a major contributor on this team, even though he got limited minutes off the bench on Sunday. All three forwards scored goals this weekend, and McIntyre will be looking for more of the same as the season progresses.

“I’ll ask (upcoming opponent) Colgate if I can play with 12,” McIntyre joked, “and then I’ll play Kenny on there as well.”

Published on August 29, 2016 at 5:53 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer