Men's Soccer

Syracuse men’s soccer visits White House to celebrate NCAA title

Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer

The Orange visited the White House to celebrate their National Championship win.

By Cole BambiniSenior Staff Writer

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Syracuse men’s soccer visited the White House on Monday as part of College Athlete Day along with 46 other championship teams across 19 sports and all three NCAA divisions. In December, the Orange won their first-ever College Cup, defeating Indiana 2(7)-2(6) in penalty kicks.

“This was just a surreal way to spend the morning,” head coach Ian McIntyre told syracuse.com. “This was about wrapping up the year and celebrating with a remarkable group of young men.”

President Joe Biden, a Syracuse alumnus, was supposed to host the event but unexpectedly got a root canal and missed the event. Vice President Kamala Harris attended in his place. While in Washington D.C., the Orange also met with Congressman Brandon Williams and Senator Chuck Schumer.

The Orange, who were Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champions, were unranked to begin the 2022 season. They were projected to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division, which they won as well.

Against the No. 13-seeded Hoosiers, No. 3-seeded Syracuse (19-2-4, 5-1-2 ACC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead as former striker Nathan Opoku sent in a curling left-footed shot from the top right of the 18. IU responded, but Opoku found Curt Calov, who’s since transferred to Rutgers, for the 2-1 lead in the 33rd minute.

The Orange held that lead for 46 minutes until the Hoosiers leveled the game in the 80th minute, forcing extra time. Scoreless after the additional 20 minutes, former goalie Russell Shealy saved IU’s penalty kick in the eighth round, setting up Amferny Sinclair’s championship-winning spot kick.

“This was a championship prize fight that went all the way down to penalties,” McIntyre said postgame.

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