Syracuse memories of Canada star Tajon Buchanan

Syracuse memories of Canada star Tajon Buchanan originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There was always an air of mystery at the start of a new season at SU Soccer Stadium, on the South Campus portion of Syracuse University.

College soccer isn’t a sport with headline-grabbing recruits. A stroll into the stadium on a picture-esque early-semester night always offered the promise of something excitingly unexpected.

That’s what Tajon Buchanan was when he first arrived in Syracuse.

Some players are an acquired taste. You have to watch them for hours and hours to realize the way they impact a match.

Buchanan was no such thing. It took mere seconds for Buchanan’s scintillating natural ability to become apparent.

It’s been about a decade since he first arrived at SU, and now he plays for Canada’s national team, part of the squad co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

But back then, he was just the brand new winger, clearly blessed with a lightning level of quickness and footwork.

Buchanan, even back then, was that rare breed of footballer around whom everything stopped when he got the ball at his feet.

Maybe you’re in the stands, talking to a friend, half-watching as the ball is moved around the pitch. 

But then there on the wing, Buchanan has received the ball. Everything quiets. Fans lean forward. Something special could be on the menu.

And maybe Syracuse’s fanbase didn’t do that the very first time Buchanan touched the ball at home. But it didn’t take long.

This was a guy, on the same team with fellow Canadian Kamal Miller and United States defender Miles Robinson, who was going places.

On those evenings as the sun set, it didn’t matter where Buchanan was going to end up exactly, though.

The Orange faithful simply wanted to watch him dazzle, and that’s what he did.

It’s fitting, then, that he has ascended to the biggest stage in the sport. He always looked like a guy who had been dropped down from a higher league.

It’s not often that Syracuse University is represented at the World Cup, and Miller missed out on Canada’s team after starting in Qatar four years ago. But with Buchanan and Robinson taking part in this tournament, it’s a cool reminder of the special things that could be seen at SU Soccer Stadium, even when you didn’t know what that pitch might bring you in a given season.