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A season that began with a National Championship banner ceremony ended in frustration.

As New Hampshire took an insurmountable 3-0 lead deep into the second half, Syracuse’s emotions boiled over. Nicholas Kaloukian received a yellow card in the 69th minute after shoving UNH’s Yannick Bright. Walking to the sideline agitated, Kaloukian was met by SU head coach Ian McIntyre, who put his hands on the striker’s face, seemingly telling him to calm down.

Yet, it was too late. Syracuse’s (9-5-7, 2-1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) back-to-back national title hopes were already dashed. No. 8 seed New Hampshire (13-2-4, 4-0-3 America East Conference) dethroned the reigning champions 3-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. From start to finish, the Orange were completely outmatched. Their offense was lifeless, generating a season-low one shot on goal. The Wildcats applied pressure all afternoon, beginning with a sixth-minute opener and closing on a 61st-minute strike by Eli Goldman, who delivered the final blow to SU’s tumultuous 2023 campaign.

“We huffed and puffed,” McIntyre said postgame. “(New Hampshire) took their chances. I think we gave up a couple of soft goals today. When you’re in tournament play, you can’t afford to go on the road and give up soft goals and unfortunately we did today.”

The loss to New Hampshire was SU’s worst of the season. It was put in unfamiliar territory by the Wildcats, as it failed to control possession like it usually does, and allowed a litany of chances in its defensive third, where UNH consistently capitalized.

The Wildcats put the Orange on edge early. In the sixth minute, UNH’s Cameron Briggs caught up to SU midfielder, Lorenzo Boselli, and forced a turnover.

On the counterattack, forward Georgios Koliniatis passed to Taig Healy with space in the right side of the 18-yard box. Healy had a clear lane at the left side of the net, as SU goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham was stationed too far toward the near post and couldn’t adjust in time. Healy sent a low dribbler past a diving Wickham, putting New Hampshire in front 1-0.

It took until the 31st minute for the Orange to come close to responding. In UNH’s final third, midfielder Mateo Leveque sent a trickling ball toward net which Wildcats goalkeeper Joseba Incera gloved with ease. Five minutes later, UNH made SU pay.

A corner taken by Atila Ashrafi met the head of Buster Sjoberg, who deflected it up into the air. Bright jumped up for the 50-50 ball and headed it forward to Dylan Maxon. The New Hampshire midfielder had made a run upfield and drove a left-footed strike past a diving Wickham, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 2-0.

Despite getting back to its typical, ball dominant playstyle to start the second half, Syracuse still couldn’t convert, much less take a shot on target. A goal from Goldman in the 61st minute all but sealed the victory for New Hampshire, as the Orange entered into desperation mode the rest of the way.

“We knew that New Hampshire is a terrific team and this is a tough place to play,” McIntyre said. “And today, they deserved to win this game.”

At every turn, Syracuse had no answer for the Wildcats. For a team that’s consistently crawled its way back into games all season long, Sunday was different. The Orange were coming off a first-round win over Boston University where they responded to a third-minute Terriers goal with three unanswered goals during an 11-minute span in the first half.

But what stayed consistent in the season-ending defeat was SU’s inability to put shots on target. The defending NCAA Champions lost top scorers Nathan Opoku and Levonte Johnson in the offseason, and have struggled since to replicate the duo’s production. Through Oct. 18, they held a .319% shot-on-goal percentage, which ranked No. 201 out of 202 Division I programs.

During an alarming 2-1 loss to Temple on Oct. 10, Syracuse took 15 shots. Though, only two were on target. Defender Noah Singelmann said postgame that the Orange needed to improve their finishing in the attacking third in order to have success down the stretch.

“In the final third, we need to be cleaner, get shots on target,” Singelmann said on Oct. 10. “Because if you don’t get shots on target, you can’t really score.”

And SU flailed when it mattered most. Attempting four shots with one on-target, Syracuse registered a measly .250% shot-on-goal percentage versus New Hampshire. It never gave itself a chance.

Down 2-0 in the 38th minute, Boselli and Felipe D’Agostini combined for a takeaway off a UNH throw-in within SU’s attacking third. D’Agostini dribbled toward the box and sent a short feed to Jeorgio Kocevski. The midfielder, who returned to the field after serving a one-game suspension against BU, passed to Nate Edwards near the top of the box.

Edwards had space and took a few steps forward before attempting a shot. Though, his strike flew too high and sailed above the crossbar. It was the second shot of the game for Syracuse, and its final try of the first half.

In the 54th minute, the Orange were still down 2-0 yet begun to apply more consistent pressure in the final third. Leveque set Kocevski up with an open lane to shoot at the edge of the box. Like Edwards’ attempt, Kocevski blasted the shot over the goal.

One minute later, Kocevski took his first corner of the contest. SU looked to capitalize on another set piece after scoring on two in the first round against BU. But Kocevski whipped in a corner that found nobody, placing it beyond the far post and trickling out of bounds.

As time ticked down toward the end of the match, Syracuse was visibly irritated with the flow of the game. While UNH sat back once it gained a 3-0 lead, the Orange couldn’t materialize any sort of offense despite receiving tons of time to do so. In the 74th minute, D’Agostini crossed to a wide-open Kocevski in the center of the box.

Kocevski took SU’s final shot of the year — a half-hearted scissor kick that flew wide right of the net. Tracking back to prepare for the ensuing New Hampshire goal kick, the Orange jogged back with their heads pointed at the turf. Syracuse had nothing left in the tank to inspire a last-ditch effort at continuing its quest to go back-to-back.

“I’m used to this,” McIntyre said of SU’s season-ending defeat. “There’s a lot of tears on the field today, that’s what sometimes we don’t see, the emotion behind (it all).”

Published on November 19, 2023 at 6:32 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews