Louisville’s Kenney Walker had a free kick from six yards outside the box. The first half was winding down, and No. 2 Louisville was tied with a Syracuse team that had no conference wins. Walker played the ball across the field to a waiting Aaron Horton at the corner of the six-yard box.

The cross came in a little low. But instead of volleying it, Horton threw his body at the ball, heading it at the Syracuse net just feet away. SU goalie Jeremy Vuolo pounced off his line and dove at the ball, clutching it in his hands to prove to the Cardinals that the play was dead. This was Vuolo’s favorite save of the day.

‘When he plays like that and keeps us in the game, it just builds our confidence so much,’ Nick Bibbs said. ‘We’re like, ‘Oh, JV (Jeremy Vuolo) is smoking. Let’s get hot now. We can win this for JV.”

So what was supposed to be a blowout in favor of No. 2 Louisville ended in a 2-1 loss for the Orange. Vuolo kept Syracuse in the game against a team that is second in the league in shots and third in goals scored. His seven saves kept the team from getting blown out. His leadership and distribution of the ball to start attacks made his teammates fight for all 90 minutes.

Although head coach Ian McIntyre said his goalkeeper made some good saves to keep the team in the game, he was most impressed with Vuolo’s distribution. His ability to decide when to punt or throw the ball served as a springboard for the attack. Central defender Robbie Hughes said it was these extra elements that made Vuolo’s performance Wednesday stand out.

‘Today he showed a lot more of his game, as in his distribution and his command of his back four was good today,’ Hughes said.

In particular, this meant rolling the ball to SU midfielder and top scorer Nick Roydhouse. Vuolo has trended more toward punting when he gets the ball so that his players have a chance to get up the field. Against Louisville, however, the keeper wanted to start quick counter attacks. On several occasions, Roydhouse was unmarked on the left side of the field, giving Vuolo a perfect open target.

‘When they got caught forward, (Vuolo) noticed that Nemo (Roydhouse) — I think it was three times in a row — was just wide open on the flanks with a lot of space,’ Bibbs said. ‘If Nemo’s open in space out wide, you have to give it to him.’

Although none of these opportunities were converted into goals, they opened up a new option for his distribution. Punting the ball as opposed to rolling it also gives players a chance to catch their breath. In a high-tempo game against such a formidable opponent, however, Vuolo did not want to slow down play.

Yet despite being on top of all aspects of his game, the team did concede two goals within the first six minutes of each half. Both goals came down to showdowns with Vuolo. On the first goal, Louisville’s Dylan Mares ended up alone in the box. Although Vuolo came out, there was little the keeper could do to stop Mares’ shot low to the right corner.

The second goal, Cardinal Colin Rolfe got the ball a few yards over the midfield line with just two SU defenders in the way of the goal. Once in the box, Rolfe hit the top left corner of the goal, an almost unstoppable shot.

‘I think it was a sloppy goal to concede,’ McIntyre said. ‘We were attacking and the ball turned over, and then one ball in behind caused us problems.’

Vuolo’s play wasn’t enough to get the Orange into position to make the Big East tournament. But he helped his unranked team play with the best team in the Big East. His saves were just the beginning. His leadership from the back and how he distributed the ball rounded out his performance and motivated his team.

Said Bibbs: ‘When he plays like that, I feel like we’re one of the best teams.’

alguggen@syr.edu