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Christian Curti received a pass back after a throw-in on the left side of Wake Forest’s defensive half. He played a cross, hoping to find the head of Lorenzo Boselli. The Demon Deacons’ Prince Amponsah got to the ball first, but he accidentally headed the ball into his own net, giving the Orange a 2-0 lead in the 24th minute.

That would be the final goal in No. 7 Syracuse’s (9-2-1, 3-1-0 Atlantic Coast) 2-0 win over No. 4 Wake Forest (10-1-0, 3-2 ACC), who’ve now lost two of its last three games. The Orange dominated offensively, outshooting WFU 19-10 with five shots on goal while holding the Demon Deacons to seven shots below their average.

“What we said at halftime was to be aggressive and try to continue what we’re doing in the first (half),” head coach Ian McIntyre said after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half. “I thought we defended well from the front and Buster (Sjoberg), Abdi (Salim) and Curti were awesome.”

Wake Forest threatened within the first five minutes as it tried to play a through ball into the 18. But goalkeeper Russell Shealy reacted and quickly came out for a sliding save to prevent any danger. On Friday, Shealy made five saves on Wake Forest’s five shots on goal, including a save on a direct free kick from 25 yards out with 25 minutes remaining.

Syracuse eventually jumped out in front in the 13th minute. After Levonte Johnson dribbled into the penalty box, Prince Amponsah tripped up Johnson inside the 18, resulting in an Orange penalty kick.

Nathan Opoku took the penalty kick on Tuesday against Cornell, but on Friday, Jeorgio Kocevski opted to take it. He took several steps, and a deep breath, before slotting a hard-driven ball past the outstretched gloves of Trace Alphin.

“I kind of made up my mind as I was striking it,” Kocevski said of the penalty kick location. “So I was fortunate enough in the corner where (the goalkeeper) didn’t save it.”

In the 24th minute, Amponsah’s own-goal effectively secured Syracuse’s win over Wake Forest. For the rest of the match, the Orange didn’t settle back and allow too many chances to develop, nor did they give up o
n the offensive end either.

“We had to be extremely organized,” Curti said. “We knew our defensive gameplan and we checked to stick with it.”

In the 33rd minute, the Orange seemed to have secured another penalty to extend the lead to 3-0 after Omar Hernandez dragged down Noah Singelmann. But the referee said the foul was a foot outside the 18. And on the ensuing set piece, Curti’s header went just over the bar.

In the second half, the Orange’s offensive pressure continued. Within 20 seconds, Syracuse managed to get a cross from Giona Leibold on the left side, though Opoku’s header on the receiving end missed the target.

Opoku was active in the attack for the Orange, playing crafty passes and layoffs, including in the 55th minute when he played a back-heel layoff for Boselli, who’s shot was deflected out for one of SU’s four corners.

Syracuse’s play developed mostly in the midfield, connecting with players like Colin Biros, Anferny Sinclair and Kocevski who’d distribute out wide to outside midfielders and the forwards. In the 54th minute, Sinclair dribbled down the midfield line into the Demon Deacons’ half before finding Boselli, who then played a through ball to Johnson. Johnson crossed it, but Amponsah controlled the cross, before being fouled by Opoku.

Sinclair, playing in the defensive midfielder role, was active in the Orange’s offensive developments and stopped any Wake Forest attack. With 10 minutes to go, Sinclair was fouled hard, which caused a VAR check for a possible red card.

No card was given, it showed Sinclair’s aggressiveness throughout the night.

“That may have been (Sinclair’s) best performance in a Syracuse jersey,” McIntyre said.

The Orange’s aggressiveness wasn’t crisp clean, though, committing 19 fouls compared to Wake Forest’s eight. Abdi Salim and Boselli also picked up yellow cards.

As the Demon Deacons became more desperate to cut into the deficit, they continued to send long balls forward. With 20 seconds remaining, Wake sent in a free kick from near midfield into the box and the ball landed into the feet of Mitchell, who was just outside the penalty box. Mitchell’s shot went right to the gloves of Shealy, who laid on the ball until the final whistle, signaling the SU’s second win over a top-5 opponent this season.

“I think it’s huge for us,” Curti said. “It felt like a playoff game, especially hitting the tail end of our season. I think that’s a really big confidence booster and kind of shows what we can do.”

Published on October 7, 2022 at 10:54 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini