Men’s Soccer Off to Promising Start with Dominant Win Over Marist
By: Andrew Selover | @AndrewSelover
CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter
Syracuse, NY – The thirteenth season of Syracuse Men’s Soccer under head coach Ian McIntyre is officially underway. The Orange enter the 2022 campaign with several new faces. Twelve players join McIntyre’s squad for the new season, five coming from the transfer portal and seven entering their freshman year. Plenty of questions awaited Syracuse in 2022, including where goals would come from. The Orange finished in the bottom half of the ACC for scoring in 2021 and lost their top goal scorer, Deandre Kerr.
SU put an answer to some of those questions in a dominant 6-0 victory over Marist in the first of three scheduled exhibitions. Colin Biros, a transfer from Akron a year ago, opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Julius Rauch then doubled the ‘Cuse lead before halftime on a cross from Nathaniel Opoku. Nearly thirty minutes of scoreless soccer ensued after the halftime break until the floodgates opened for Ian McIntyre’s squad in the 75th minute. Freshman Andrea DiBlasio became the first member of the newest recruiting class to find the back of the net, adding to the Syracuse lead. The deficit for the Red Foxes quickly became four as Stephen Betz slotted home a penalty kick just two minutes later. SU still threatened for more as sophomore Michal Gradus scored his first goal in a Syracuse jersey in the 84th minute to extend the lead to five. Just a minute later, Abdi Salim headed home the final goal of the night. Syracuse’s win over Marist will not reflect in the 2022 record, but it certainly provides hope heading into another season in the ever difficult ACC.
While Marist took a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 after claiming a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, the Red Foxes are working on replacing six starters from last year’s record setting season. That will not be the case for the Orange’s next opponent. Villanova strolls into the SU Soccer Stadium on Tuesday, following a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. After suffering a 3-0 defeat to Notre Dame to end the 2021 season, the Wildcats return all ten starters in the field under head coach Tom Carlin in 2022. Villanova promises to be a tough test for Syracuse ahead of the regular season opener against Iona on August 25th. Kickoff is scheduled for 5PM between the Orange and the Wildcats on Tuesday at the SU Soccer Stadium.
