No. 25 Orange Opens 2024 Campaign at Colgate

Thursday, August 22

Hamilton, NY

7:00 PM

Syracuse University

Colgate

8/21/2024 12:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Game Details: Thursday, Aug. 22; Hamilton, N.Y.; 7 p.m. ET
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Coverage: Stats
Twitter: @CuseMSOC
Instagram: @cusemsoc
Syracuse Links: Notes | News | Roster | Schedule
Colgate Links: Roster | Schedule

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse men's soccer is set to open its 2024 campaign against the Colgate Raiders on Thursday, Aug. 22, at Beyer-Small '76 Field. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Thursday's match will be the first time since 2019 where the Orange opened their regular season on the road. 'Cuse is 3-3 all-time under head coach Ian McIntyre when opening its regular-season slate away from home.

'Cuse Update
Syracuse won all three of its exhibition matches against St. Bonaventure (Aug. 10), Marist (Aug. 13), and Rutgers (Aug. 17), outscoring its opponents, 8-3.

Five different players scored for the Orange in their three tune-ups. Michael Acquah led the way with three goals, while Sachiel Ming, Ezra Widman, Daniel Burko, and Kristjan Fortier each added one tally throughout the preseason.

'Cuse is coming off a 2023 season where it made the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive season, after winning the National Championship in 2022. The Orange also earned a spot in the ACC Tournament semifinals for the second campaign in a row.

The 2024 Orange roster features 31 players, including 13 freshman (Chimere Omeze, Dominic Bell, Garrett Holman, Alex Wharton, Braedon Smith, Kyle Jansen, Kelvin Da Costa, Abokye Bikyeombe, Fortier, Jack Grossman, Quinn Olcott, Sam Sery, and Ming), two sophomores (Ezra Widman and Nathan Scott), four juniors (Nicholas Kaloukian, Acquah, Jahiem Wickham, Carlos Zambrano), seven seniors (Gavin Wigg, Daniel Burko, Jason Smith, Tomas Hut, Elton Chifamba, Giona Leibold, and Michal Gradus), and five graduate students (Andre Cutler-DeJesus, Ben Rosenblatt, Sam Layton, Gabe Threadgold, and Ernest Bawa).

Orange in the Polls
Syracuse was tabbed No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings, marking the second-consecutive season the Orange have been included in the preseason poll.

Syracuse was one of 10 ACC teams included in the USC preseason rankings. The other nine schools included reigning National Champions, Clemson (No. 1), Notre Dame (No. 2), Stanford (No. 5), UNC (No. 6), SMU (No. 10), Virginia (No. 13), Wake Forest (No. 15), Duke (No. 20), and Louisville (No. 24).

Scouting the Raiders
Colgate is coming off its best season since 2018, earning eight wins and a place in the Patriot League semifinals where it lost to eventual conference tournament champion, Boston University.

Heading into 2024, the Raiders were picked to finish fourth in their conference behind Loyola Maryland, Boston University, and American.

Colgate is led by midfielder Alejandro Coury, who grabbed a spot on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team ahead of the upcoming campaign. Coury is coming off a season where he earned All-Patriot League Third Team honors for the second-consecutive season after recording a career-best seven points (three goals, one assist).

Series History
Syracuse and Colgate have faced each other in each of the past nine seasons, minus the 2020 campaign. In that span, the Orange are 7-0-1 against the Raiders, including a 1-0 victory a season ago.

'Cuse has a slight edge in the lifetime series with Colgate, holding 32 wins compared to the opposition's 29. The pair of teams have also drawn 10 contests.

Colgate has not topped Syracuse since 2011, when the Raiders earned a 1-0 win over the Orange.

Up Next
'Cuse returns to SU Soccer Stadium for the team's home opener on Sunday, Aug. 25, against Niagara. Play will begin at 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Admission and parking are free for all in attendance.

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