No. 3 Orange Advance to ACC Championship Final

Wednesday, November 9

Syracuse, N.Y.

5 PM

Syracuse University

13-2-4, 5-1-2

Virginia

10-4-4, 5-1-2

Virginia

Syracuse

11/9/2022 9:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Highlights

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 3 Syracuse men's soccer will play for its second Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Championship in program history after defeating No. 11 Virginia in a penalty kick shootout in Wednesday's semifinals at the SU Soccer Stadium. The score was tied, 2-2, after regulation and two, 10-minute overtime periods, but the Orange won the shootout, 5-3, to advance to the final for the first time since 2015.

Both teams converted on their first PK of the shootout before junior Jeorgio Kocevski converted his try to put the Orange up, 2-1. 'Cuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy made a save on Andreas Ueland's attempt as Syracuse maintained its lead. Both squads converted on their third and fourth tries, giving graduate student Colin Biros a chance to send the Orange to the ACC Final. Biros stepped to the spot and buried his shot past Virginia goalkeeper Holden Brown to secure the 5-3 shootout victory.

"That was a fun ACC semifinal, it was a privilege to be a part of it," head coach Ian McIntyre said after the match. "I'm very proud of our guys I thought they were terrific. In the second half I think we really took the match to Virginia. I think we deserved to get something out of this game and a chance to play on Sunday."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

A penalty kick in the 27th minute gave the Orange (13-2-4) an early lead as sophomore Nathan Opoku was taken down inside the box. Kocevski converted for his third goal of the year via PK. The Cavaliers (10-4-4) answered in the 38th minute when Ueland scored off an assist from Axel Ahlander.

Virginia took the lead in the 66th minute. Shealy stopped the Cavaliers' first shot by Philip Horton, but the rebound went to Leo Afonso, who put his shot in the back of the net. The Syracuse equalizer came in the 84th minute. Opoku slid a pass to junior Lorenzo Boselli, who put his shot inside the left post to even the score and force overtime.

Both teams earned corner kicks in the first 10-minute overtime session, with Virginia's coming in the final six seconds. Shealy made a save on Horton's shot to keep the game tied at 2-2. Brown made two saves in the second OT, while Shealy made one to send the game to the shootout.

OF NOTE:

Syracuse has goals in the last ten minutes of both ACC Championship matches.

The Orange won their first penalty shootout since an ACC Championship First Round win against North Carolina in 2019.

'Cuse took 21 shots compared to Virginia's 15.

Syracuse is now 2-1 in ACC Championship Semifinals.

'Cuse advances to the ACC Championship Final for the first time since 2015.

UP NEXT:

Syracuse, which earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after winning the Atlantic Division regular-season title, will make it's second appearance in the ACC Championship Final since joining the league in 2013. The Orange will face defending national champion Clemson on Sunday, November 13 at 12 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The game will air on ESPNU.

The teams met earlier this year on the Tigers' home pitch. Clemson scored in the eighth minute to take the early lead, but goals by Kocevski and Johnson gave the Orange a 2-1 win over the No. 1 ranked Tigers.

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