#7 Syracuse Host Cornell on Tuesday Night

SYRACUSE, N.Y.— No. 7 Syracuse men’s soccer begins a three-match home stand at the SU Soccer Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 4th with a contest against Cornell. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be streaming on ACCNX.

ORANGE UPDATE:

The Orange enter Tuesday’s match 8-1-1 (3-1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which matches the best start to a season since 2016. Syracuse is No. 7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.

After losing its first match of the season against Virginia, Syracuse responded with a dominant performance in a 3-0 road win against Virginia Tech. Giona Leibold put the Orange ahead in the first half, while Noah Singelmann and Nathan Opoku found the back of the net in the second half to put the match out of the Hokies’ reach.

Redshirt Senior goalkeeper Russell Shealy kept his Atlantic Coast Conference-leading sixth clean sheet against Virginia Tech. Defenders Abdi Salim, Buster Sjoberg, and Olu Oyegunle were instrumental in limiting the Hokies’ attacking chances, holding the hosts to just four shots on target. Shealy recorded four saves, two of them coming in the first five minutes of the match.

Syracuse’s offensive combination of Levonte Johnson and Opoku continued their stellar run of form. Opoku took the squad lead in goals at Virginia Tech, finding the back of the net for the fourth time this season. Johnson assisted Leibold for the first goal, as he now holds the team lead in assists with five.

Defense is one of the team’s biggest strengths. The Orange have only allowed three goals this season, which leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in goals conceded. ‘Cuse also leads the nation in goals against average with a mark of .200. Shealy is on course to set numerous single-season program records. His GAA of 0.33 is on pace to break Alex Bono’s mark of 0.55 from the 2014 season.

There are currently five fall sports teams ranked on Syracuse’s campus, the most teams concurrently ranked in the fall in school history. Men’s cross country (No. 10), field hockey (No. 13), women’s cross country (No. 14) and football (No. 22) are the other four teams besides the men’s soccer program.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED:

Cornell is 7-1-0 (1-0-0 Ivy League) on the season. The Big Red are first in the Ivy League standings and are on a four-match winning streak. The record is the best start to a season under head coach John Smith.

Smith is in his seventh season as head coach of Cornell. He’s led the Big Red to three straight 10-win seasons, which is a…