The Orange were unable to capitalize on early chances as Virginia hit back hard to secure a win
The Syracuse Orange men’s soccer team (6-5-3, 1-3-2) suffered their largest defeat of the season in a must-win game at Virginia on Saturday night. After an 11-day break thanks to a canceled match with Loyola, the Orange looked energized and hungry from start to finish but were unable to break through at tough UVA defense.
Currently sitting around 50 in the NCAA rankings, this result means that the Orange will need to win both games against highly-ranked #4 Pitt and #8 Clemson plus a solid ACC Tournament run if they want any chance to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season.
Virginia was clearly no pushover themselves, with a battle-tested squad who have played one of the most difficult schedules in the country (almost as hard as SU’s). The team lost in the Sweet Sixteen of last season’s NCAA Tournament. Nick Dang is the Cavalier’s leading marksman from a defensive position as he has bagged five goals from set pieces and is a dominant player in the air on both ends. Paul Wiese is another experienced defender with the Cavaliers who leads the team in assists. Up top, UNC Greensboro transfer Daniel Mangarov is a strong all-around threat.
The game started with the Orange pressing high and looking hungry for a breakthrough. A few near misses and goalline clearances in the opening 10 minutes were the only things keeping the Orange from taking an early lead in the match.
Head Coach Ian McIntyre named his typical back five, with the interesting addition of Sachiel Ming in a midfield with Carlos Zambrano and Nathan Scott to provide more attacking firepower. Daniel Burko and Michael Acquah started up front with Nick Kaloukian making a cameo appearance as he returns from injury.
With this high-pressing lineup, the Orange were left exposed on the break in the ninth minute as Victor Akoum surged through a light Syracuse midfield, into the final third. Akoum let loose an absolute rocket from 20 yards out, which zipped between two SU defenders, wrongfooting Tomas Hut as it hit the back of the net.
This opener clearly rocked SU’s confidence as Virginia seized hold of the game, generating a plethora of chances in the following minutes. Only six after the opener, UVA got in behind the Orange defense again with Daniel Mangarov making a great run, receiving well, and putting the ball on a plate for Joaquín Brizuela to finish.
Given that the Orange have only scored two or more goals in one ACC match this year, the team looked pretty down and out from this point onwards, struggling to find inventive ways to break down the Virginia defense, who were more than happy to sit back and defend for long stretches to protect their lead.
Despite the Orange leading UVA in shots on target (3-4) in the first half, they were unable to break through. After Virginia’s second goal, the Orange only had one other clear-cut in the half.
The Orange turned up the aggression in the second half, looking to win the ball high up the field as they again won the shots battle in the second 45 minutes.
Both teams saw a few opportunities in the first few, but Virginia were again the ones to capitalize. A UVA free kick was delivered into the box and bumbled around between players before falling to the feet of leading scorer Nick Dang, who smashed it home to give his side a 3-0 lead. This goal pushed Dang’s tally to five on the season.
With the game fully away from them now, the Orange players looked upset and unmotivated, making rash decisions and a few dangerous and risky passes.
In the 42nd minute of the game, captain and minutes leader Sam Layton had nearly been sent off for a dangerous tackle on Virginia’s Mangarov. In the 66th minute, Layton again got tangled up with a UVA attacker on the break, dragging him back by his shirt. Layton received yellows for each of these offenses and was sent off in the 66th, further deflating SU’s confidence as their captain headed to the locker room.
Through the last 25 minutes, the Orange mustered few clear chances despite pressing for a goal, and the game finished 3-0 in favor of the Cavaliers.
Following this tough result, the Orange will head further south to the home of reigning National Champions, #8 Clemson, who will pose a massive challenge for the Orange on Friday night. SU wraps up their regular season with another huge test in a difficult home match against #4 Pitt. Stay tuned for updates on these matches and all things SU soccer.