CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the teams Syracuse had overtime losses to last season was misstated. The overtime losses include Siena and Pittsburgh. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Hearing the postgame cheers was bittersweet for Lars Muller. On one hand, the stands were still filled with fans that stuck around to applaud Syracuse’s six-goal win over Colgate. On the other hand, Muller knew he’d have to wait a month to hear the cheers of the home crowd again.

SU’s next home game is on Sept. 22. On the heels of its biggest win in 18 years, the Orange (3-1) will play the New Jersey Institute of Technology (2-2) and St. Bonaventure (0-4) this weekend in the Mayor’s Cup in Oneonta, N.Y.

The Orange plays six of its next seven games on the road in four different states.

“It’s sad to have one of our most exciting games at home in front of our fans, then turn around and leave,” said Muller. “But we’re excited about this road trip and representing our school.”

There’s an excitement about this road trip that Muller’s never seen before. After all, last year’s team lost five of its six games, including deflating overtime losses to Siena and Pittsburgh en route to a disappointing three-win season.

With this year’s fast start, spending a month on the road doesn’t seem like such a grueling prospect. And younger players who notched their first road win in their first away game earlier this season only add to a growing positive outlook about the team’s chances away from home.

Muller might not remember a time where Syracuse looked forward to playing on the road, but freshman Stefanos Stamoulacatos doesn’t know any better. The midfielder and local product from Camillus, N.Y., has known nothing but a confident Syracuse team so far in his young career.

It’s a far cry from what Stamoulacatos saw when he attended SU games last fall as a senior at West Genesee High School. He saw sagging shoulders and poor postures after every goal, and wondered about the future of the team.

He ended up enrolling at Syracuse and became a member of the team that would start to change the culture. And players that don’t remember last season’s terrible road record, like Stamoulacatos, have helped reduce a mindset that plagued the team last year.

“It’s night and day,” Stamoulacatos said about the difference he’s seen in just one year. “Watching from the stands, they just didn’t look like they had the mindset to win. Now, you can tell just by being around the guys we have on this team that we’ll have no problem hitting the road and playing some teams close.”

Even older players like Muller echo that youthful confidence. Ted Cribley said after Monday’s game that “it feels good to play soccer again.” As those veteran players were pulled off the field, each one had a smile on his face.

Syracuse didn’t even enter the Mayor’s Cup last season during its disappointing season. With three wins in the books so far, head coach Ian McIntyre is already talking about winning the tournament.

“It’d be great to get a trophy for these guys, for them to have a little piece of their own history,” McIntyre said. “Especially for the younger guys to start their careers off with something they can hang their hats on.”

The youth movement is working. Coming off its biggest win of the season and under their head coach’s tenure, many teams would bemoan a momentum-breaking month of road games.

Syracuse used to be that team. It isn’t anymore.

“We’ll be playing a lot of minutes and putting some younger guys out there to stay fresh,” said sophomore defender Skylar Thomas. “I think this road trip will be good for us, honestly. We can only get better by playing together.”

Published on September 6, 2012 at 1:58 am

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets