Men’s Soccer Trounces Virginia Tech in Downpour
By: Andrew Selover | @AndrewSelover
CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter
Heavy rains in Blacksburg courtesy of Hurricane Ian could not stop Syracuse men’s soccer on Friday night. After the first Orange loss of the season last weekend against Virginia, SU came back fighting against Virginia Tech.
Syracuse had not beaten VT since 2016. After both teams took a while to find their footing on a sloppy pitch, Levonte Johnson sparked a counterattack off a Hokies corner kick. Eventually, Johnson played in Giona Leibold who rippled the back of the net in the 28th minute to give SU the lead. Johnson picked up his fifth assist on the season on the play. The Orange held the 1-0 lead until the 64th minute when Noah Singlemann scored his first goal of the season on a cross from Christian Curti. Nathan Opoku capped off a great night for Ian McIntyre’s squad with his team-leading fourth goal of the season with six minutes remaining.
Syracuse (8-1-1) matches its win total from a year ago. Ian McIntyre’s squad sits tied atop the ACC Atlantic division in points with No. 1 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are in action tomorrow against No. 4 Duke. The Orange are off their best start since 2016. Tonight’s win was the biggest ACC victory for SU in nearly three years. Next up for Syracuse is a date with Cornell at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the SU Soccer Stadium.
