SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 4 Syracuse men’s soccer wrapped up the regular season with a 1-1 draw against Boston College. The Orange are now outright Atlantic Division champions, securing one of the top-two seeds in the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. ‘Cuse is unbeaten in its last six matches. The last loss was a 1-2 result against a ranked Cornell squad on Oct. 4.
Boston College took advantage of a corner kick in the 12th minute of the match, as Walker Davey headed the ball in for the opening score. After getting outshot in the first half, sophomore wingback Giona Leibold sparked the Orange attack to 14 second-half shots. Syracuse found a way back into the contest with a penalty kick goal from junior midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski.
The Orange will host an ACC Men’s Soccer Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 6 for the first time since 2016, when the Orange beat Pittsburgh 4-0 in the first round.
“I thought we were terrific in the second half,” head coach Ian McIntyre said after the match, “I am very proud of the way our guys didn’t panic. They kept playing and got the equalizer and were pushing to try and get the winner.”
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The visitors took control in the opening portion of the match, as Boston College (4-6-5, 1-4-3 ACC) contained the Syracuse (12-2-3, 5-1-2) attack with solid midfield play. The Eagles won a corner in the 11th minute, then went ahead after Ted Cargill found Davey for a header.
A 28th-minute substitution by coach McIntyre changed the momentum, as the 13th-year head coach called on Kocevski. The Liverpool, New York native allowed Syracuse to control possession with his long-range passing ability.
‘Cuse took four shots compared to Boston College’s five in the first 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Russell Shealy made his only save of the match in the first half.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Orange were the more aggressive side. Leibold was a creative sparkplug down the wing, as his dribbling ability created space for attacking partners Lorenzo Boselli and Nathan Opoku.
Syracuse capitalized on that space in the 65th minute. Opoku received the ball inside the penalty box and took a touch before Boston College midfielder Jonathan Murphy tripped him. The referee awarded ‘Cuse a penalty, as…
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