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Entering its game against Virginia, Syracuse was riding a three-game winning streak, its longest of the season. The Orange had rebounded after a stretch where they had only won one-of-eight games.

But the Cavaliers, who had won their last four games, swiftly ended Syracuse’s brief run.

In just the 10th minute, UVA’s Victor Akoum received a pass just across midfield. SU’s defenders, Gabe Threadgold and Chimere Omeze, were positioned in front of the sophomore defender, but they decided to sit back.

This gave Akoum far too much space. He dribbled 10 yards forward, then drilled a screamer past the Orange backline and just out of reach of a diving Tomas Hut to open the scoring.

Akoum’s first goal of the season proved to be the game-winner for the Cavaliers. Syracuse (6-5-3, 1-3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) was dismantled by Virginia (7-4-3, 3-2-2 ACC) 3-0, led by two early first-half scores. In a physical game that saw 37 combined fouls, SU was outplayed by the Cavaliers. The Orange only tallied four fewer shots than UVA but were much less efficient with their attempts, sealing their third ACC loss of the season.

Early in the game, Syracuse came out firing. In the eighth minute, it had two prime chances to score after Carlos Zambrano was fouled twice in Virginia’s end. Zambrano’s first free kick was easily cleared, but he was fouled again on the rebound.

The second opportunity was much closer, but again Syracuse couldn’t cash in. Sachiel Ming took the kick and floated the ball to the back post. But Andre Cutler-DeJesus’ header fell right to UVA goalkeeper Joey Batrouni.

Immediately after this sequence, the Cavaliers threw the first punch with Akoum’s score.

Moments later, the Orange looked to even the score. Threadgold received a pass on the right of the goal and threaded the ball to Michael Acquah. Acquah, with two defenders on him, fired a close-range shot, but Batrouni easily snagged it.

Shortly after, Virginia doubled its lead. Following a UVA corner kick, Paul Wiese tapped the ball forward to Daniel Mangarov on the left of the box. Mangarov booted a cross to Joaquín Brizuela in front of the net. Cutler-DeJesus tried to cut the ball off, but it missed his foot, and Brizuela tapped it in to make it 2-0.

UVA maintained control following Brizuela’s goal. Five minutes later, Umberto Pelà possessed the ball in front of the 18-yard box. He faked out his defender and found an opening, but his shot rolled to Hut.

Possession switched back and forth for the next 10 minutes, with the Orange squandering multiple scoring chances. In the 32nd minute, Nicholas Kaloukian dribbled down the left side of the pitch, juked out a defender, and sent a cross to an open Ernest Bawa. However, Bawa flicked the ball over the net.

Later, Syracuse dribbled down the field on a counter-attack, and the ball ended up with Ben Rosenblatt. The graduate student floated the ball to Kaloukian at the left post, but Kaloukian’s shot flew straight up, making an easy save for Batrouni.

Kaloukian manufactured another shot moments later after swerving past three defenders, but he didn’t get enough on it, and Batrouni made another diving stop. The half ended shortly after, with Virginia still up two.

The second frame was largely controlled by the Cavaliers. In the 51st minute, they notched their first shot of the half, as Luke Burns intercepted a pass and dribbled to the middle of the field, with SU again giving him too much room to work with. However, Burns’ left-footed shot floated just over the crossbar.

Burns got involved just a few minutes later following a foul on Omeze. After the free kick, Burns received the ball along the right side, but Threadgold blocked his shot, stopping the threat.

Then, Brizuela knifed through SU’s backline and moved toward the left side of the goal. He made a nifty move, putting Rosenblatt on his backside, but his shot was stonewalled by Hut.

But after multiple missed shots, the Cavaliers finally tacked on in the 57th minute. Following an Elton Chifamba foul, Mangarov lofted a free kick toward Nick Dang at the front of the goal. Dang missed on a header, but Omeze deflected the ball to him, and he struck it past Hut to extend UVA’s lead to three.

Syracuse, already disadvantaged by the 3-0 deficit, was forced down to 10 players after Sam Layton received his second yellow card of the game in the 66th minute. Still, the Orange notched their first three corners in the next 15 minutes, though they couldn’t score.

A minute later, Braedon Smith moved down the left side, booting a cross to defender Dominic Bell in front of the net. But Bell squibbed a shot that Bartouni gobbled up at the far post.

Then, Daniel Burko was tackled by Parker Sloan just outside of the penalty area, awarding SU a free kick near the goal. SU tried a set piece, but Burko’s low shot was easily blocked.

For the final 15 minutes, UVA backed off, having the liberty of taking its time because of its big lead. SU threatened a few times, though each attempt was either cleared or saved by Batrouni, who finished with seven saves. When the clock finally ran out, SU was handed its third ACC loss in six contests.

Published on October 19, 2024 at 9:55 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99