Men’s Soccer Secures Road Point at NC State
By: Andrew Selover | @AndrewSelover
CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter
For the first time in seven years, Syracuse men’s soccer will be hanging a banner following a 1-1 draw at NC State on Saturday. Along with a Wake Forest loss to Virginia, the Orange’s result clinched SU the top spot in the ACC Atlantic for the 2022 regular season. It’s the first time that Syracuse has won the Atlantic division since 2014 and the first ACC title of any sort since SU took home the conference tournament title in 2015.
Syracuse dominated possession against the Wolfpack for the entire first half, only allowing one shot in the first 45 minutes, Yet the game remained scoreless at the halftime break. With just its second shot of the game, NC State took the lead off the foot of Noe Cabezas in the 51st minute. Just two minutes later, the Orange equalized on an own goal off a Noah Singlemann cross. SU had the better of the chances to end the game but never grasped a lead. Syracuse also outshot NC State 20-5. It’s the second straight game where the Orange have failed to capitalize on a majority of their chances.
With the win, SU wrapped up its first-ever undefeated road regular season under head coach Ian McIntyre. With the ACC Atlantic title, the Orange lock up a top-two seed for the ACC tournament. This means that Syracuse will host its quarterfinal matchup on Sunday, Nov. 6 at the SU Soccer Stadium. McIntyre’s squad would also host a semifinal match if it were to win. The championship game is at WakeMed Park in Cary, NC, a predetermined neutral site. Syracuse has a chance to clinch the entire ACC regular season title at home this Friday. SU takes on Boston College at 7 p.m. in a must win and have Virginia lose or draw at North Carolina on the same night.
