Syracuse soccer looks toward semifinal match against Creighton
Syracuse soccer looks toward semifinal match against Creighton
With the team’s 2-1 win over Vermont on Sunday, the Syracuse men’s soccer team will be advancing to the College Cup once again to face Creighton in Cary, NC. This will be the second time the Orange have made it to the semifinals round of the NCAA Championship under head coach Ian McIntyre.
Last year, however, Syracuse finished with an 8-8-4 record for the season, losing in the first round of the ACC Championship and missing out on a spot in the NCAA tournament bracket.
So how did this year’s team win the ACC Championship and end up as one of the last four schools in the NCAA tournament?
To answer that question, we’ll have to go back to this past summer, when Coach McIntyre and staff had just finished bringing in a recruiting class of 12 young men that would soon make an essential contribution to a hungry Syracuse squad.
After a disappointing end to the 2021 campaign, Coach McIntyre soon set off to find the pieces that could put the finishing touches on what was already a solid team. In June, Coach McIntyre and staff finalized his list of newcomers for the 2022 season. Twelve new faces were brought to the gates of SU Soccer Stadium, but three of these additions would soon make a significant impact on the team: Nathan Opoku, Levonte Johnson, and Lorenzo Boselli.
“Nate [Opoku] provides us another top-level attacking option who can stretch the game with his pace, movement, and his directness,” Coach McIntyre said in June. “He is a terrific complement to our returning attackers, and we look forward to quickly integrating Nate into our team.”
The trio of attackers soon made their presence felt. In the first game of the season against Iona, the opening goal was scored by none other than Opoku, with an assist by way of Johnson. The Orange triumphed over the Gaels by a score of 2-0, marking their first win in an eight-game unbeaten streak that included victories against the talented teams of Clemson and Notre Dame.
“We just kind of clicked right away with how to play off each other,” Johnson said about his connection with Opoku.
Syracuse hit a rough patch from September 24 to October 4, starting with a loss to Virginia after Jeorgio Kocevski, one of the more seasoned Syracuse players, was sent off in the 21st minute.
The Orange were defeated by Cornell 2-1 two weeks later, with Syracuse’s lone goal in the match scored by Opoku on a penalty kick. It was a troubling stretch, but the Orange weathered the storm.
The team got back on track with a shutout statement win against Wake Forest 2-0 just three days later and followed that up with a 6-1 rout of Loyola.
The resilience showed after that loss echoed the one quality Coach McIntyre has been mentioning all season regarding his team: maturity. The team didn’t hang their heads or lose faith after a rough patch; they cleaned up their mistakes, maintained confidence in themselves, and returned to their winning ways.
That is the mark of a championship team, and much of that mentality can be attributed to the excellent coaching of Coach McIntyre.
“This team has a maturity to them. This is a team built to navigate the postseason, and they’ve got the appetite to embrace this challenge,” Coach McIntyre said.
The Orange finished the regular season with a 12-2-3 record, securing a first-round bye in the ACC Championship. After beating North Carolina 1-0, Syracuse advanced into the semifinals for a rematch against Virginia.
In a gritty, two-hour-long match, the Orange epically prevailed over the Cavaliers. Down 2-1 with just seven minutes left to play, Boselli scored a clutch equalizer off an assist from Opoku to send the game to extra time, followed by a penalty shootout.
Syracuse’s All-ACC goalkeeper Russell Shealy again came up with a crucial save on Virginia’s third shot. On the fifth and final penalty kick, the Orange advanced to the finals thanks to the tremendous poise shown by Colin Biros, who slotted the shot into the net.
The Orange found themselves up against Clemson in the finals, who they defeated 2-1 to win their first ACC Championship since 2015.
Now, Syracuse is in the NCAA Championship. After wins against Penn, Cornell, and Vermont, the Orange have reached a spot in the semifinals, where they’ll be facing off with Creighton.
The Bluejays are the best goal-scoring team in the nation, with 63 total goals thus far this season. Junior forward Duncan McGuire is responsible for 22 of those goals and is currently the nation’s leading goal scorer.
The upcoming match against Creighton on Friday will be a challenge for Syracuse. But, this team has faced many tests this season and has emerged from each one a stronger team and, more importantly, the victorious team. The coaches and players are confident that Friday’s game will be no different.
is an undeclared student in the 2026 class and a contributor for The NewsHouse.
