#7 Syracuse Men's Soccer Upset by #22 Cornell
Cornell bested Syracuse men’s soccer in a top-25 matchup and 74th overall meeting between the two sides.
After a couple offside calls were made to begin the game, 22nd-ranked Cornell scored first in the 13th minute. The ball bobbled around in the box and found its way in before redshirt senior goalkeeper Russell Shealy could collect it.
Sophomore Giona Leibold for the seventh-ranked Orange peppered the Big Red with multiple shots from the left side for the rest of the first half, but none were successful.
Halftime came after three yellow cards were issued in the last five minutes of the first half to Cornell’s senior Noel Ortega and sophomore Matthew Hutchison, and Syracuse’s junior Jeorgio Kocevski. This was Kocevski’s first game back in the lineup since he received a red card against Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 24. He did not play against Virginia Tech this past Friday due to the suspension.
The Orange conceded their first penalty kick of the season in the 66th minute to Cornell after senior Abdi Salim took down Cornell’s Matthew Goncalves in the box. Goncalves drove the ball low and hard toward the left post to put the Big Red up by two.
Senior Lorenzo Boselli made a big impact coming off the bench, with his most notable opportunity coming in the 58th minute with a shot that sailed just wide of the frame.
Head Coach Ian McIntyre said that he wishes he would have put him on the field sooner, but was more than pleased with what Boselli contributed while on.
Senior Levonte Johnson had one of the Orange’s best opportunities in the 73rd minute to force Cornell to make one of their five saves on the night.
The Orange were awarded their first penalty kick of the season with just 17 seconds left on the clock after Cornell’s freshman Andrew Johnson received a yellow inside the box. Opoku buried buried it and scored his fifth of the season.
The top-25 showdown was physical to put things lightly, with a combined 40 fouls and eight yellow cards.
Syracuse’s senior Buster Sjoberg and sophomore Olu Oyegunle, and Cornell’s freshmen Daniel Samways and Johnosn, and senior Kurt Lehmkuhl were the other five players to be carded.
This was the Orange’s first loss to a ranked opponent this season, now 3-1 against them while the Orange went 1-4 last year.
The Big Red are on a five-match winning streak and move to 8-1-0 on the season, the best start to a season under Head Coach John Smith, while the Orange are now 8-2-1 on the season and McIntyre is 5-2-2 against the Big Red since taking the helm in 2010.
The Orange allowed multiple goals for the first time this season, and first time since late October of 2021 when they lost at Wake Forest 2-0.
This was the first game of three straight at home for the Orange. SU Soccer Stadium will host fourth-ranked Wake Forest in a top-10 ranked match this Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
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