Orange Begin NCAA Title Defense Against BU

Game Details: Thursday, Nov. 16, Syracuse, N.Y., 6 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse begins its National Championship defense against Boston University on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament First Round at the SU Soccer Stadium. The match will air live on ESPN+.

Tickets for the 2023 NCAA Championship First Round match are $10 for the general public and $5 for college students with a school ID and youth ages 12 and under. The first 250 Syracuse students to enter with a valid student ID are free of charge. Gates open at 5 p.m. and tickets can be purchased on cuse.com/tickets.

Syracuse is one of nine ACC schools that earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the most of any conference.

'Cuse Update
Syracuse lost to North Carolina, 3-1, in the ACC Tournament Semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 8. Sophomore Nicholas Kaloukian scored his fourth goal of the season at 55:17. Junior Mateo Leveque and senior Jeorgio Kocevski recorded assists on the marker.

Leveque registered at least one point in all three ACC postseason matches, finishing with a goal and two assists.

Kocevski recorded his 12th assist of the campaign against the Tar Heels. The midfielder is now the all-time leader in assists by a senior in program history.

The Orange outshot North Carolina, 13-11, had a 9-6 advantage in shots on target and had more corners, 10-5.

'Cuse has 150 corner kicks this season, tied with Akron for the most in the country. The Orange average 7.89 corners-per-game, second to the Zips (8.33).

NCAA Tournament History
Syracuse makes its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and eighth under head coach Ian McIntyre. The Orange are 13-5-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 10-0-0 at the SU Soccer Stadium. 'Cuse is 2-1-0 in the NCAA First Round and 3-2-1 when it is not seeded in the national tournament.

Syracuse has faced 18 different programs in the NCAA Championship prior to Thursday's contest against Boston University.

In 2022, the Orange won all five of their matches, including a 7-6 penalty kick shootout against Indiana, to win the program's first College Cup.

Nine members of the 2023 roster appeared in the 2022 National Championship run, including five of the 11 starters. Overall, 13 players on the 2023 roster have appeared in an NCAA Tournament match in their careers.

Scouting the Terriers
Kevin Nylen is in his fourth season at the helm of the Boston University men's soccer program, holding a 23-19-15 overall record. The Terriers enter the 2023 NCAA Championship with a 12-3-4 overall record and finished conference play 7-1-1. BU won its first Patriot League Championship and is making its first NCAA appearance in eight years. The top seed in the Patriot League postseason, the Terriers beat Lafayette, 1-0, on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Eitan Rosen scored the deciding goal in the 65th minute, his team-best ninth marker of the season. Rosen's 20 points, 47 shot attempts and 17 shots on target also lead the BU squad.

Francesco Montali has started 17 of the 19 matches in goal for the Terriers, posting a 0.71 goals-against average and a .745 save percentage with eight clean cleans in 1,530 minutes.

Series History
Thursday's match will be the fourth all-time meeting between Syracuse and Boston University and first since 2000. The Terriers have won all three previous matches. The first two games both occurred on Oct. 7, with BU earning 4-1 and 2-0 victories in 1978 and 1979, respectively. In the last meeting, the host Terriers beat the Orange, 3-2, on Sept. 1 in Boston.

Up Next
The winner of Thursday's match advances to the NCAA Second Round game, which will be against eighth-seeded New Hampshire. The contest will take place on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. in Durham, N.H. and will air live on ESPN+.

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's soccer, follow us on Facebook (/cusemsoc), Twitter (@CuseMSOC) and Instagram (@cusemsoc).

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Players Mentioned

Nicholas Kaloukian

Jeorgio Kocevski

Mateo Leveque

Syracuse University Athletics