Syracuse received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play the winner of Hartwick (11-5-3, 5-0 Sun Belt) and Dartmouth (11-5-1, 6-1 Ivy) in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 22 at SU Soccer Stadium.

If the Orange (13-5-3, 3-4-1 Atlantic Coast) was to beat either the Big Green or the Hawks, the potential third-round game would also be played in Syracuse as SU boasts a higher seed than the other ranked opponent in its region of the bracket, 11-seed Seattle.

“I’m not sure if it’s sunk in yet,” head coach Ian McIntyre said, “but very, very proud of this group of young men.”

McIntyre spent his collegiate career at Hartwick and helped the program to two NCAA berths in his four years. He then spent seven seasons as the Hawks’ head coach from 2003-09, registering four 10-win seasons and an NCAA tournament berth in 2005.

“From a purely selfish reason,” McIntyre said, “I’d like them to advance as my former school. That would be a special opportunity.”

The Orange is coming off a 1-0 win over Notre Dame on Sunday to capture the program’s first ACC title. After not beating a ranked opponent the entire season in three attempts, Syracuse knocked off N.C. State, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 2 Clemson and No. 9 Notre Dame en route to the conference title.

Ben Polk scored SU’s lone goal against the Fighting Irish, and two against the Tigers in the conference semifinals to garner tournament MVP honors.

“We’re on a bit of a surreal ride right now with that ACC win,” Polk said.

Rounding out the ACC in the nation-wide tournament, No. 1 Wake Forest garnered the top seed and a first-round bye, North Carolina the No. 5 seed and a first-round bye, Clemson the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, Notre Dame the No. 7 seed and a first-round bye and unseeded Virginia and Boston College will play in the opening round.

Syracuse has now qualified for the NCAA tournament in two consecutive seasons. It earned a first-round bye and No. 9 seed last year after finishing 16-4-1 but losing to Louisville in the ACC tournament semifinals.

Published on November 16, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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