Syracuse Draws 1-1 With Vermont

Friday, September 2

Burlington, VT

7 PM

Syracuse University

Vermont

9/2/2022 10:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse men's soccer (2-0-1) split the points with Vermont (1-1-1) as Friday night's match ends in a 1-1 draw. The Orange opened the scoring early in the first half as senior forward Levonte Johnson scored his first career Syracuse goal to grab the lead.

Vermont equalized 10 minutes later, as former N.C. State forward Yaniv Bazini scored to draw the score even.

"I thought our response going into the second half was very good," head coach Ian McIntyre said. "Overall, I think we'll consider this a good point won. We will learn a lot from this, playing against a top team on the road in a tough environment."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orange secured the lead in just the 10^th minute of action. Syracuse sprung onto the counterattack after winning the ball from Vermont. Nathan Opoku slid a pass to his strike partner Johnson inside the penalty area. The senior forward shifted the ball on his left and fired the ball off the crossbar into the back of the net. The goal marks Johnson's first Syracuse career goal and the 10^th goal of his collegiate career.

"It was great for him (Johnson) to score," McIntyre said on Johnson's first goal. "He's worked extremely hard and it was good for him to get on the scoresheet."

In the 20^th minute of action, Vermont evened the score with a low shot from Bazini. It marks the first goal that Syracuse has conceded in the 2022 campaign.

Heading into the halftime break, Vermont outshot Syracuse 7-2. In the second half, though, the Orange were more aggressive on the attacking end. The second half shot tally favored Syracuse, 5-3.

Syracuse's best chance in the second came in the 58^th minute. Sophomore midfielder Curt Calov lobbed a ball towards Johnson down the right wing. Johnson fired a shot that went just wide of the left post.

Both defensive units were strong across the 90 minutes. Each team only registered one shot on goal, as Syracuse's backline of Christian Curti, Olu Oyegunle, and Buster Sjoberg put in another strong showing.

OF NOTE
Johnson scored the first goal of his Syracuse career after transferring from Seattle University in the 2021 offseason. It marks the 10th goal of his Division I career.

Calov made his 2022 debut after he came off the bench in the first half. The sophomore midfielder made the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshmen team after scoring five goals and registering two assists.

UP NEXT
Syracuse wraps up its two-game road trip on Monday, Sept. 5 against former BIG EAST rival UConn. The contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. The Orange then return home on Sept. 10 to open conference play against defending ACC champion Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Admission to the match is free.