# 2023 Syracuse Orange men's soccer team

The 2023 Syracuse Orange men's soccer team represented Syracuse University during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 104th season of the university fielding a program. It was the program's 11th season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and their 14th season with Ian McIntyre as the head coach of the program. The Orange played their home matches at SU Soccer Stadium in Syracuse, New York.
The Orange finished the season with a 9–5–7 overall record and a 2–1–5 record in ACC play to finished in third place in the Atlantic Division. As the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated eleventh seed NC State in the First Round, and advanced past third seed Virginia via penalties in the Quarterfinals, before falling to seventh seed North Carolina in the Semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Boston University in the First Round before losing to eighth seed New Hampshire in the Second Round to end their title defense.

## Background

The 2022 season was the most successful season in program history. It was the first time a team from the university reached the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament championship game going on to defeat #13 Indiana, 7-6 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. It was the program's first national soccer title since 1936.
During the off-season, the team spent time in the UK, practicing against U21 squads for Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton, and Leicester City. The team was also invited to the College Athletes Day at the White House on June 12, 2023.
On August 1, 2023, the team was ranked #1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 preseason poll.

## Player Movement
### Players Leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Russell Shealy | 1 | GK | 6'1" | 223 | Senior | Cartersville, Georgia | Graduated; drafted 52nd overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Christian Curti | 2 | DF | 6'2" | 178 | Senior | Ontario, Canada | Graduated |
| Abdi Salim | 3 | DF | 6'1" | 177 | Senior | Buffalo, New York | Graduated; drafted 17th overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Amferny Sinclair | 5 | MF | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Alajuela, Costa Rica | Graduated; drafted 45th overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Julio Fulcar | 6 | MF | 5'9" | 174 | Graduate Student | Watertown, Massachusetts | Graduated |
| Curt Calov | 7 | MF | 5'9" | 155 | Sophomore | Morristown, New Jersey | Transferred to Rutgers |
| Nathan Opoku | 10 | FW | 6'0" | 173 | Sophomore | Accra, Ghana | Signed professional contract with Leicester City |
| Colin Biros | 13 | MF | 5'7" | 149 | Graduate Student | Jackson, Ohio | Graduated |
| Levonte Johnson | 14 | FW | 5'10" | 185 | Senior | Brampton, Ontario | Graduated; drafted 29th overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Louie Bulger | 15 | DF | 5'10" | 157 | Senior | Tokyo, Japan | Graduated |
| Camden Holbrook | 18 | MF | 6'2" | 183 | Senior | Cary, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Parker Kump | 25 | GK | 6'0" | 181 | Sophomore | Fairport, New York | Transferred to Albany |
| Noah Lechelt | 31 | MF | 5'10" | 173 | Freshman | Edmonton, Canada | Transferred to Coastal Carolina |
| Marc Chin | 32 | DF | 6'0" | 185 | Freshman | Oviedo, Florida | — |
| Lucas Daunhauer | 40 | GK | 6'3" | 176 | Graduate Student | Evansville, Indiana | Graduated |

### Players Arriving

After departure of many starters to professional ranks, the team welcomed 13 transfer players.

#### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jason Smith | 1 | GK | 6'1" | 173 | Junior | Fresno, California | Utah Valley |
| Pablo Pedregosa | 2 | DF | 6'2" | 176 | Graduate Student | Villareal, Spain | NC State |
| Andre Cutler-DeJesus | 3 | DF | 6'1" | 176 | Junior | Mamaroneck, New York | Marist |
| Gabriel Mikina | 5 | DF | 6'1" | 183 | Senior | Toronto, Canada | Niagara |
| Stephen Hasse | 6 | MF | 5'8" | 157 | Senior | Godfrey, Illinois | Niagara |
| Mateo Leveque | 7 | MF | 5'11" | 171 | Junior | Nice, France | Connecticut |
| Felipe D'Agostini | 11 | MF | 5'7" | 163 | Graduate Student | Porto Alegre, Brazil | Oral Roberts |
| Rodrigo Almeida | 14 | FW | 6'1" | 165 | Graduate Student | Lisbon, Portugal | Niagara |
| Daniel Diaz Bonilla | 15 | FW | 6'0" | 187 | Graduate Student | Vienna, Virginia | Princeton |
| Nathaniel Edwards | 18 | MF | 5'9" | 167 | Senior | Brampton, Ontario | Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Thomas Hutt | 25 | GK | 6'3" | 217 | Junior | Nutley, New Jersey | Army |
| Nicholas Kaloukian | 32 | FW | 6'0" | 189 | Sophomore | Wayne, New Jersey | Michigan |
| Josh Belluz | 33 | MF | 6'6" | 207 | Graduate Student | Toronto, Canada | Villanova |
| Michael Suski | 99 | FW | 5'10" | 177 | Senior | Avon, Connecticut | Boston College |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nationality | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Ezra Widman MF | USA | New York, New York | New England Revolution Academy | |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 18, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Sam Coss |
| 1 | GK | USA | Jason Smith |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Pablo Pedregosa |
| 3 | DF | USA | Andre Cutler-DeJesus |
| 4 | DF | GER | Noah Singelmann |
| 5 | DF | USA | Gabriel Mikina |
| 6 | MF | USA | Stephen Hasse |
| 7 | MF | FRA | Mateo Leveque |
| 8 | MF | USA | Jeorgio Kocevski |
| 9 | FW | GER | Julius Rauch |
| 10 | MF | ITA | Lorenzo Boselli |
| 11 | MF | BRA | Felipe D'Agostini |
| 12 | DF | USA | Gavin Wigg |
| 13 | MF | USA | Colin Biros |
| 14 | FW | POR | Rodrigo Almeida |
| 15 | FW | USA | Daniel Diaz Bonilla |
| 16 | MF | USA | Michal Gradus |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | USA | Giona Leibold |
| 18 | MF | CAN | Nathaniel Edwards |
| 19 | DF | SWE | Buster Sjoberg |
| 20 | MF | USA | Trevor Carabin |
| 21 | DF | USA | Stephen Betz |
| 22 | DF | CAN | Ole Oyegunle |
| 23 | DF | USA | Jackson Glenn |
| 24 | FW | USA | Andrea DiBlasio |
| 25 | GK | USA | Thomas Hut |
| 26 | MF | USA | Tony Shaw |
| 27 | DF | USA | Aidan Arber |
| 28 | FW | USA | Francesco Pagano |
| 29 | MF | USA | Antonio Pagano |
| 30 | GK | CAN | Jahiem Wickham |
| 31 | MF | USA | Ezra Widman |
| 33 | MF | CAN | Josh Belluz |
| 99 | FW | USA | Michael Suski |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic director | John Wildhack |
| Head coach | Ian McIntyre |
| Associate head coach | Jukka Masalin |
| Assistant coach | Sean Lawlor |
Source:

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Preseason ||||||
| August 12* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Canisius | W 4–0 | – | SU Soccer Stadium Syracuse, NY |
| August 16* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | St. Bonaventure | W 5–0 | – | SU Soccer Stadium Syracuse, NY |
| August 19* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Marist | W 4–0 | – | SU Soccer Stadium Syracuse, NY |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 24* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 1 | Providence | W 2–0 | 1–0–0 | SU Soccer Stadium (1,276) Syracuse, NY |
| August 28* 7:00 pm, ACCN | No. 1 | Binghamton | W 3–0 | 2–0–0 | SU Soccer Stadium (1,422) Syracuse, NY |
| September 1* 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 1 | at No. 20 Penn State Rivalry | T 1–1 | 2–0–1 | Jeffrey Field (2,684) University Park, Pennsylvania |
| September 4* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 1 | Albany | W 1–0 | 3–0–1 | SU Soccer Stadium (1,257) Syracuse, NY |
| September 8 8:00 pm, ACCN | No. 4 | No. 7 Louisville | T 2–2 | 3–0–2 (0–0–1) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,832) Syracuse, NY |
| September 12* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 7 | Siena | Cancelled | 3–0–2 | SU Soccer Stadium Syracuse, NY |
| September 16 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 7 | at No. 20 Wake Forest | T 1–1 | 3–0–3 (0–0–2) | Spry Stadium (2,059) Winston-Salem, NC |
| September 19* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 7 | at Cornell | L 1–2 | 3–1–3 | Charles F. Berman Field (915) Ithaca, NY |
| September 22 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 7 | Pittsburgh | W 3–2 | 4–1–3 (1–0–2) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,911) Syracuse, NY |
| September 29 7:00 pm, ACCN | No. 7 | at No. 21 Duke | L 3–5 | 4–2–3 (1–1–2) | Koskinen Stadium (1,524) Durham, NC |
| October 3* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 18 | Colgate | W 1–0 | 5–2–3 | SU Soccer Stadium (784) Syracuse, NY |
| October 6 7:30 pm, ACCN | No. 18 | No. 13 North Carolina | W 1–0 | 6–2–3 (2–1–2) | Dorrance Field (2,387) Chapel Hill, NC |
| October 10* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 10 | Temple | L 1–2 | 6–3–3 | SU Soccer Stadium (352) Syracuse, NY |
| October 15 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | No. 21 Clemson | T 1–1 | 6–3–4 (2–1–3) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,612) Syracuse, NY |
| October 18* 7:00 pm, ACCN | No. 22 | Yale | W 2–0 | 7–3–4 | SU Soccer Stadium (487) Syracuse, NY |
| October 22 1:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 22 | NC State | T 1–1 | 7–3–5 (2–1–4) | SU Soccer Stadium (320) Syracuse, NY |
| October 27 7:00 pm, ACCNX | No. 19 | Boston College | T 1–1 | 7–3–6 (2–1–5) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (517) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| ACC tournament ||||||
| November 1 6:00 pm, ACCN | (6) No. 22 | (11) NC State First Round | W 5–0 | 8–3–6 | SU Soccer Stadium (505) Syracuse, NY |
| November 5 2:00 pm, ACCN | (6) No. 24 | (3) No. 9 Virginia Quarterfinals | W 1–1 $^{4-3}$ | 8–3–7 | Klöckner Stadium (2106) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 8 6:00 pm, ACCN | (6) No. 18 | (7) No. 7 North Carolina Semifinals | L 1–3 | 8–4–7 | SU Soccer Stadium (1570) Syracuse, N.Y. |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| November 16* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 18 | Boston University First round | W 3–1 | 9-4-7 | SU Soccer Stadium (1321) Syracuse, NY |
| November 19* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 18 | (8) No. 10 New Hampshire Second round | L 0–3 | 9-5-7 | Wildcat Stadium (620) Durham, N.H. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Giona Leibold | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26, 2023 |
| Jahiem Wickham | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 10, 2023 |
| Jeorgio Kocevski | ACC Midfielder of the Year | November 8, 2023 |
| Jeorgio Kocevski | All-ACC First Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Lorenzo Boselli | All-ACC Third Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Daniel Diaz Bonilla | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 12, 2023 |
| Alex Svetanoff | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 12, 2023 |

## 2024 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Jeorgio Kocevski | Orlando City | 1 | 21 | MF |
| Olu Oyegunle | Atlanta United | 2 | 33 | DF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 1 (4) | 1 (8) | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 10 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 18 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 25 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 19 | 24 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |