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Before Syracuse’s final home game of the season, Manel Busquets met Syracuse coaches Jukka Masalin and Ian McIntyre at midfield, where he received a number 10 jersey along with a large framed photo of himself with his left arm raised, celebrating a goal from earlier in the season. It was only fitting that he got to recreate the same celebration in the game’s 30th minute.

SU had taken a short corner and looped the ball centrally. The ball sailed over every Orange player in the middle of the box but found Max Kent near the right edge of the area. As Kent settled it, Clemson cleared and looked to send Alvaro Gomez on a counter. But Giona Leibold stepped in with the ball deep in the Tigers’ half and stopped their attack. 

Leibold combined with Deandre Kerr on a give-and-go, sending Leibold up the right wing. Ousmane Sylla slid in, making contact on the ball, but Leibold knocked the ball toward the end-line, sprinting to get a cross on it before going out. The cross was pulled back on the ground to Busquets, who slotted a point-blank shot off Clemson goalkeeper George Marks and into the bottom right corner.

Busquets’ game-winner was enough to lead Syracuse (8-6-2, 2-4-1 Atlantic Coast) to a 2-0 victory over No. 6 Clemson (10-4, 4-3 ACC). Busquets took three of the Orange’s seven shots on goal and attempted six total shots — a season-high for the senior forward.

“Busquets really caused them some problems tonight,” McIntyre said. “His directness, his pace, obviously scoring a goal, almost a real threat tonight. I thought Manel could’ve been man of the match tonight.”

Five minutes into the game, Busquets established himself as the focal point of Syracuse’s offense. Starting in SU’s front two alongside Kerr, Busquets was the Orange’s main target when playing direct balls out of the back, something Syracuse tested after Clemson’s first corner kick.

The corner led to an aerial ball that was cleared out of danger by Syracuse’s defense and bounced to Kent just outside of the area. Kent saw Busquets run along the left wing and played a perfect ball into space for him. His first touch and pace beat Clemson’s Callum Johnson, who was slowly backtracking against him. Busquets was set to make a clear run at goal before Johnson clipped him from behind, conceding a yellow.

The forward movement between Busquets and Kerr challenged Clemson’s defense all night, especially when they combined with Syracuse’s wingbacks.

At one point, Hilli Goldhar dribbled the ball up the left wing into Clemson’s half, taking his space before finding Jeorgio Kocevski straight ahead. Kocevski turned and found Busquets to his right about 25 yards from goal. Busquets, unmarked, teed up a low shot, missing the frame by a matter of feet.

Just a minute beforehand, however, Syracuse was on the receiving end of a near-identical miss from Clemson at the opposite end of the field. Directly off a throw-in along the left wing, Sylla turned into a wide lane of space within the midfield with no Orange defenders pressuring him. Combined with Mohamed Seye at the top of the penalty area, Sylla received the ball for a quick, low shot that trickled about as close to the goal as Busquets’ effort did.

As Clemson approached the second half on the offensive front, pushing numbers forward mostly out wide, Busquets found more space to run along both wings, with the self-proclaimed “rocket” testing his pace along with the Tigers’ defensive transition.

This time, Busquets was along the right wing and given plenty of space to line up a low cross into the mix for four Syracuse attackers. The initial cross was blocked by a weak Clemson tackle, but his clearance didn’t leave the penalty area. Kocevski got onto the loose ball and redirected it on the net in an attempt that was saved by Marks, who spilled a rebound in the process. Goldhar then picked up the loose ball, firing it off to Oskar Ågren, who deflected the ball wide of the open net.

Syracuse often struggled at winning aerial challenges, but Clemson was able to start its attack in midfield and effectively send its wingers. Midway through the first half, Sylla won the ball in the air off of a Russell Shealy goal kick. Sylla brought the ball down and sent it out wide to Isaiah Reid, taking on SU defender Olu Oyegunle along the right wing. Reid’s initial low cross was blocked by Buster Sjoberg, but he followed up on the clearance for a first-time volley right at Shealy.

Clemson also used his aerial advantage on corner kicks, beating SU to nearly every ball whipped into the box. On its second corner kick of the game, Ben Erkens got his head onto a looping inswinger that found him at the back post. But that shouldn’t have been the case as he was double marked by Syracuse’s Noah Singelmann and Amferny Sinclair.

Busquets was subbed out as McIntyre opted for a stronger defensive formation to close out the game with just over five minutes to go, leaving Kerr as SU’s lone striker up top. Almost immediately, Kerr received a ball that was cleared deep out of the Orange’s end. Clemson defender Enrique Montana III was on his back and got to the bouncing ball first.

But then Kerr shouldered him to the ground, cleanly knocking him down before dribbling into Clemson’s half toward the goal with only one defender in his way. He cut both left and right before firing a right-footed shot at the top of the box, redirecting off Ågren and into the middle of the net. The goal sealed a crucial conference victory for Syracuse and its first against a ranked opponent this season.

SU entered Saturday’s game coming off of an eight-day stretch without a game, its longest of the season. McIntyre credited the win to the team’s approach to training, something it will have to continue in anticipation of a road trip to No. 16 Wake Forest.

“This was a reward for a wonderful week,” McIntyre said. “You don’t win games under lights on Saturday night, you win games based on how you train for a win. They’ll come smiling on Monday and then we’re headed to play Wake Forest. You couldn’t have had a tougher end to the season.”

Published on October 23, 2021 at 10:05 pm

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