Syracuse Drops First Match of Season, Falls to Virginia

Syracuse, N.Y. – A 10-man Syracuse squad picks up their first loss of the season following Leo Afonso’s 85^th minute winner.

Unfortunately, this was one of those games that the referees had a hold on from the jump. It is going to happen from time to time where a crew is quick to blow the whistle and quick to pull a card. This game saw 27 fouls with 10 of them being bookings. Two yellows came out in the first 8 minutes which was a warning to both sides. Unfortunately, Jeorgio Kocevski picked up one of those early yellow cards and was sent off with his 2^nd in the 22^nd minute. No player should be sent off that early in a game unless the fouls are getting egregious. Were they fouls in most of the 27 cases, yes but many did not deserve a card. The desire for referees to control play and keep things from getting out of hand is completely reasonable but putting any team a man down that early has to feel more deserved than it was.

Syracuse looked good before the 2^nd yellow came out for Kocevski and still had chances afterwards. Shealy made a clean early save on Afonso while Biros and Salim gave the Cavaliers a scare in the 11^th minute. In the 15^th minute Opoku played a ball onto Johnson on the wing before a perfectly placed cross. The runs from the rest of the team were just a touch late but the chances were coming, and they were quality for Syracuse. Defensively the team was working the whole game but just before Kocevski got his 2^nd yellow Christian Curti and the defense were picking up blocked shot after blocked shot.

Virginia did not really push Syracuse immediately after the booking. They had one good cross early but a tactical adjustment to go with one striker by bringing off Levonte Johnson for Jackson Glenn proved rewarding. Glenn got some of his first serious minutes of the season and did relatively well. Syracuse made the best of playing a man down following the adjustment and kept the ball around midfield. Even later in the half the Orange were able to apply some pressure and take a few looks into the final third. The Cavaliers finished the half with a shot from Kome Ubogu but Shealy was able to handle it.

At the half Virginia was outshooting Syracuse 7-5 and had only taken one more corner. The 2^nd half made it apparent that Syracuse was not going to be able to keep the ball at midfield. A coach like George Gelnovatch was not going to make it easy on the Orange and his halftime adjustments did not necessarily keep Syracuse from getting their looks but certainly made the chances that his side got more menacing. Olu Oyegunle had to make a huge stop in the box to deflect an Afonso shot just 3 minutes into the half.

Abdi Salim had another solid header from a corner, and it seemed the Orange were continuing to look for him from set pieces as a free kick just moments later was put in his direction. The best chance of the half came for Virginia when Slavov put one on goal in the 61^st minute but Shealy again made the stop. Slavov had another shot go wide right that had a window to sneak in 6 minutes later. In the 72^nd minute there was a questionable no-call when Levonte Johnson was taken down in the box. With different camera angles and replay maybe the ball was clipped first but from the stands the tackle seemed to just take Johnson out.

In the 79^th minute Calov took a free kick from just outside the box that went wide left. It was from here that Virginia really made a push. A header from Ahlander in the 83^rd just went over the bar and then Leo Afonso scored a brilliant individual goal. His pace and skill were too much on the wing which allowed him to get into the box and bend one to the top left corner to beat Shealy.

Syracuse made it 61 minutes with a man down before conceding and ultimately had a great chance to tie the game up in the 87^th. Giona Leibold had a lane open up for him but he tried to put too much on the shot and missed high. This would be their last chance before the final whistle.

Syracuse is now 7-1-1 and will likely drop in the rankings. #1 Wake Forest put a beat down on #10 Clemson which furthers their grip on the #1 spot after a 6-1 win over the defending champs. Syracuse plays again next week on Friday on the road against Virginia Tech before returning home to host Cornell. This was a minor setback but just like the draw against Vermont there is a lot this team can learn from this game. Expect a rejuvenated team come next week following some much needed rest.