Highlights & Recap: Syracuse Advances to ACC Quarterfinals With Route of NC State
Syracuse, N.Y. – Wednesday night the Syracuse Orange blew out the NC State Wolfpack 5-0 to advance to the second round of the ACC Tournament in what was a bit of a winter wonderland at SU Soccer Stadium.
What would end up being the Orange’s highest-scoring game of the season started slowly. It wasn’t until minute 25 that defenseman Gabriel Mikina would break the ice, tallying his 5th goal of the year (assisted by Pablo Pedregosa).
The momentum really started to build for Syracuse though when you least expected it. Forward Julius Rauch went down with an injury in the 39th minute (he would not return to the game). He was replaced by graduate forward Daniel Diaz Bonilla, who entering tonight had yet to tally a goal or assist on the season. That didn’t last long. 46 seconds after checking in, he found nylon, beating Wolfpack goalkeeper Samuel Terranova with a right footed volley.
Coach Ian McIntyre, whose squad has struggled to put up goals this year, said “The second goal from Daniel… it let us breathe a little bit, so we can go into halftime…”.
The second half was similar to the first, but with more snow… significantly more snow. As the flakes increased in size and SU Soccer Stadium was blanketed in white, the Orange once again got going after about 25 minutes.
In the 71st minute Felipe D’Agostini notched goal number 3 for the orange on the night, assisted by Daniel Diaz Bonilla. Three was the most goals Syracuse had scored since a September 29th 3-5 loss to Duke. You couldn’t blame them if they sat back in their rocker, pleased with a three goal lead. Well, that’s not what they did.
That’s when the Orange really started to pour it on. Just two minutes later senior midfielder Jackson Glenn secured his first goal in his collegiate career off a pass from, guess who… Daniel Diaz Bonilla. At this point the game was over for all intents and purposes, but as the snow came down harder and harder, Daniel Diaz Bonilla continued to heat up.
He would strike one final time in minute 81, as his teammates erupted in what can only be assumed to have been a mixture of surprise and joy. Diaz Bonilla, who doesn’t normally play a goal-scoring role for the Orange said this about staying ready for his moment; “My Dad sent me a text two days ago saying ‘things can change in a moment, just prepare for your moment’…” Bonilla said that’s been his mentality all season, and he’s just glad he made his moment count.
Gabriel Mikina said that the team knows they can score now, seeming to point to an offensive confidence boost after tonight’s performance
The Orange will travel to Charlottesville to face off against Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m.
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