Syracuse men’s soccer upsets No. 6 Clemson, 2-0

Syracuse closed its home season on a high note Saturday night with a 2-0 upset win over the No. 6 ranked Clemson Tigers. With the conference tournament just over a week away, the Orange secured its seventh shutout victory of the season.

On a rainy, chilly evening in front of a season-high attendance, the Orange displayed poise throughout and dominated the visiting Tigers.

The opening few minutes saw the visitors log their only threatening attack on the SU goal, but were stifled by the Syracuse backline. For the remainder of the game, it was all SU.

“I am proud of my teammates,” senior froward Manel Busquets said. “The way we came out tonight looked like a team that plays the right way, and every player contributed to this victory.”

Busquets, the Barcelona, Spain, native, opened the scoring in the 33’ minute. The strike came when Busquets ripped a shot from the right hash just inside the 18-yard box.

The Orange managed to stave off a yellow card from Luke Biasi in the ensuing minute, which led to another opportunity for Clemson to score. As the crowd fortified SU’s stout goal defense, the Orange powered through that portion of the game and controlled the entire second half.

“I told them at halftime, we needed a spark because for as well as we have played, a one-goal lead can be zapped at any moment,” head coach Ian Mcintyre said. McIntyre also said he noticed an attitude change, and the entire team played with a revitalized sense of confidence.

Deandre Kerr‘s goal with five minutes to go in the match put the contest out of reach for Clemson. Kerr made two defenders miss on a one-man breakaway. The star forward then nailed a 30-yard boot to give the Orange a two-goal lead.

Syracuse now looks ahead and will travel to Wake Forest next Friday for the final game of its regular season. A win over Wake Forest would give the Orange some added momentum before the ACC tournament.