SU men’s soccer bows out of ACC Tournament

Following a win on the road against the University of Virginia, the Syracuse men’s soccer team made a return to SU Soccer Stadium on Wednesday, where the Orange were outplayed in a chippy 3-1 loss to the University of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

While the Orange tried to garner energy from a vocal home crowd, they could not dig out from a two-goal first-half deficit, and a second-half red card sealed a UNC victory and the end of SU’s conference tournament run.

Although over 1,500 supporters showed up to cheer on the Orange, silence fell on the SU soccer stadium in the sixth minute of the match as North Carolina won the ball high up the pitch after a Syracuse mistake, stringing together a few basic passes before Martin Vician slotted the ball home to give UNC the early lead. 

Head coach Ian McIntyre had started the match with a 4-3-3 formation that deviated from the typical 5-3-2 that Syracuse supporters are used to. In this formation, graduate midfielder Felipe D’Agostini and senior midfielder Lorenzo Boselli featured in the wide attacking positions.

Sophomore forward Nicholas Kaloukian found the most promising opportunity for SU in the opening half, heading the ball toward goal in the 32^nd minute of the game. A brilliant save from Carolina goalie Andrew Cordes denied the headed effort. 

On the other end, Syracuse sophomore goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham was also called into action on a few occasions, making some spectacular saves to keep the game close.  

“He’s really stepped up. He’s been terrific,” McIntyre described when asked about Wickham’s performances in the second half of the season and in this match. “He’ll only continue to get better, and his best soccer is still ahead of him.” 

In the 37^th minute, UNC penetrated the Syracuse defense again, as the Orange were caught with numbers forward. Ernest Bawa released Daniel Kutsch with time and space on the break, finishing clinically past the outstretched arms of Wickham, giving UNC a 2-0 lead.  

To start the second half, the Syracuse team was full of energy, pushing for a goal. The Orange created dangerous chances in moments of transition where they would spring forward past the Tar Heel press.  

Photo by Griffin Uribe Brown

Felipe D’Agostini (#11) attempts to drill across into the box on Wednesday night.

Eventually, this burst of energy, spurred on by more passionate support from Syracuse supporters led to a breakthrough. Junior midfielder Mateo Leveque found himself with the ball at the top of the box, before picking out senior midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski on the left. The recently announced ACC co-midfielder of the year delivered a beautiful, whipped ball off his right foot onto the head of Kaloukian, who tipped it past the keeper. This was Kocevski’s 12^th assist of the season.  

Unfortunately, this swing of momentum would not last long.  

Two minutes later, North Carolina found themselves on the break when Kocevski took out a Tar Heel attacker from behind, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. After some deliberation using video replay, the referee showed Kocevski the red card, reducing Syracuse to 10 men for the last 30 minutes of the match.  

“When you go down to 10 players against a team with the quality of UNC, it makes it very difficult,” said McIntyre.  

Despite still gunning for opportunities on goal following the red card, Syracuse never challenged Cordes’ goal again. The Tar Heels eventually found their third goal to seal the game in the 70^th minute, punching their ticket to the ACC championship game.  

“The silver lining is the guys will now get to take a bit of a breather,” said McIntyre. “I’m really proud of this group and we’re excited to see what happens on Monday to see what our fate is. I hope we get another chance to play here and I hope we get another crowd like that.” 

Following this result, the team will wait for its draw for the NCAA College Cup on Nov. 13. The team will likely be back in action two days after that for the first round of play.