Syracuse men’s soccer launches title defense with dominant win
SU men’s soccer launches title defense
The national champions shut out Providence as championship banners are unveiled before the season opener.
SU Soccer Stadium rippled with excitement Thursday night as more than 1,200 Syracuse faithful awaited the start of the men’s soccer season.
Syracuse players and fans were treated to a pre-match banner presentation of the 2022 team’s NCAA national and ACC championships before the Orange delivered a 2-0 season-opening win over Providence.
SU head coach Ian McIntyre said he was glad the national title festivities didn’t distract his players from tending to their business on the pitch.
“I asked the guys to try to give the crowd something to enjoy,” McIntyre said. “It was magic, but you want to make sure you follow it up with a good performance.”
The coach’s expectations were met in the first minutes of the game when senior Lorenzo Boselli headed the ball home in the sixth minute off an assist from junior midfielder Giona Leibold. Boselli, who mainly played the midfield role last season, is transitioning to a new role as a striker.
Providence looked to respond with some solid attacks, but Syracuse doubled their lead off yet another Boselli header, this time off junior midfielder Mateo Leveque’s corner kick in the 12th minute.
The Orange kept the pressure for the remainder of the half with another four shots on target while Providence couldn’t get a single shot off on SU’s defense.
Syracuse looked to add to the lead during the second half but attempts by graduate defender Pablo Pedregosa and Boselli went over the bar and shots by Leibold and graduate midfielder Felipe D’Agostini were blocked by Providence’s senior goalkeeper Lukas Burns.
The Orange dominated their first game of the season on both sides of the pitch. SU outshot the Friars 13-4, got better looks at goal by 8-2 and drew more fouls by 9-6.
McIntyre said his players’ ability to keep a clean sheet was a positive from the game and anticipated the team will continue to develop as the season progresses.
“I told the guys beforehand, ‘When we circle up and we look each other in the eyes at the end of the game, make sure we’ve left everything out on the field,’ ” McIntyre said. “We did that.”
The Orange hosts Binghamton at 7 p.m. Monday at SU Soccer Stadium.
