Mistakes prove costly in Syracuse men’s soccer’s 2-1 loss to Virginia Tech
By: Evan Zaretsky |@evan_zaretsky
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Self-inflicted wounds came back to bite Syracuse men’s soccer on (7-6-2, 1-4-2 ACC) a 2-1 loss to Virginia Tech (7-5-3, 3-2-2 ACC) Friday night. An early second-half own goal by Syracuse defender Ivan Irinimbabazi proved to be the difference.
Neither side found its footing in the first 45 minutes, with just one shot on goal apiece. Both teams came out playing disciplined and energetic with postseason implications looming.
The Hokies had the better chances but failed to capitalize. In the 15th minute Alvaro Ruiz-Mateos sent in a cross, but Amir Ariely couldn’t put his header on target. A minute later Alex Perez put Virginia Tech’s only shot of the half on frame, but Juan Martinez-Bastidas was there to knock it away.
SU’s lone shot on goal came from Kelvin De Costa, who tried to take advantage of a broken play, but Diego Dauzier made an impressive diving stop.
Syracuse got another prime opportunity in the 44th minute. Bryson Rodriguez forced a turnover just outside the attacking third, then drew a yellow card on Beltran Alvarez right outside the box. Gabriel Oaksanen’s free kick careened off a wall of Hokie defenders, and the two teams went into the break scoreless.
In the 48th minute, disaster struck for the Orange. Ruiz-Mateos served a ball into the box, and Irinimbabazi, trying to clear it away, headed it into the top right corner of his own net.
But in the 63rd minute, Syracuse had a response. Rodriguez took a well-placed touch into space off a feed from Kristjan Fortier, then rifled a shot right at the hands of Dauzier that found its way into the goal. The goal for the sophomore made him SU’s top goal-scorer on the season with five.
The tie didn’t last long. In the 68th minute, Chase Vasquez sent a knockdown header to a wide-open Perez, who ripped a shot past Martinez-Bastidas to put Virginia Tech ahead 2-1. The rest of the way, Syracuse rattled off four more shots, but none were on target.
Syracuse finishes its regular season 7-7-2 and 1-5-2 in ACC play, marking its worst conference record since 2017. The Orange get back in action next week in the ACC Tournament. Their seed and first-round opponent will be set after the Cal-Stanford match Friday night. For SU’s conference tournament path and all things Syracuse men’s soccer, follow @evan_zaretsky on X.
