USA futbol loses, but a SU win over Vermont sends team to NCAA semifinals.
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse men’s soccer team is one step closer to its first national title in school history.
The Orange defeated Vermont, 2-1 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the College Cup for the second time in program history. SU last reached the national semifinals in 2015.
Seven years later, coach Ian McIntyre has the program back on college soccer’s biggest stage.
Syracuse will face Creighton on Dec. 9 with a spot in the national title match at stake. Friday’s match against Creighton will start at 6 or 8:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPNU.
“Just very proud of the guys,” McIntyre said postgame on the ESPN+ broadcast. “To go on this run of tournament games … We started at our home field on a Thursday in August a long time ago, and here we are playing at the soccer stadium in December.”
Next, SU heads back to Cary, North Carolina, where it defeated Clemson last month to win the ACC championship.
The No. 3 seed Orange (17-2-4) is the highest-remaining seed in the NCAA championship field. It has not lost since Oct. 4 against Cornell.
Syracuse ripped off dramatic postseason wins against North Carolina and Virginia at the SU Soccer Stadium. As one of the tournament’s top seeds, it earned home-field advantage throughout the NCAAs to this point.
Along the way, it won another heartstopper against Penn in overtime before knocking off Cornell and Vermont, two teams it had faced earlier in the regular season.
Against the Catamounts on Saturday afternoon, the Orange took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute off a corner kick. Sophomore forward Curt Calov curled the ball into the net on a slim angle from the flag.
UNREAL OPENER FROM CALOV 🤯#DareToDream pic.twitter.com/TFZQbSLRfk
After Vermont tied it up in the first half, the Orange took the lead for good before halftime thanks to two of its best players.
Nathan Opoku attacked the box before feeding Levonte Johnson for his 10th goal of the season.
Opoku ➡️ Johnson for the lead right before half!
Let's keep the energy and intensity up in the second half 🍊⚽️#DareToDream pic.twitter.com/yeeAFDroSL
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