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Giona Leibold knew he could score one-on-one. The same play had worked against Virginia Tech, and later versus Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game. This time, he tried it against Cornell.

Leibold streaked down midfield after Russell Shealy made a save with his thigh following a Nick Allen header. Shealy waited just three seconds to throw it out to Leibold, who started in his own defensive half. Leibold kept his head down, even making a defender fall. He slotted a left-footed goal that nearly mimicked his goal in the ACC title game.

“(Giona) scored some big goals for us this year, but none bigger than that one to keep us playing,” head coach Ian McIntyre said.

Leibold’s 83rd-minute goal lifted No. 3 Syracuse (16-2-4, 5-1-2 Atlantic Coast) over No. 14 Cornell (14-4-1, 5-1-1 Ivy League) in a 1-0 victory, avenging the defeat the Big Red handed the Orange in early October. Syracuse advances to the quarterfinals where it hosts Vermont, a side SU tied 1-1 on the road in its third game of the season in September.

McIntyre said the team focused on counter-attacking moments over the week in preparation for the Big Red, worrying about how Cornell could transition in the midfield. But McIntyre knew it could take advantage of the width and have more numbers in the midfield, playing more guys deeper.

Syracuse opened up in an atypical 3-4-2-1 formation, slightly different from its typical 3-5-2 formation. It dropped Levonte Johnson into the midfield, leaving Nathan Opoku as the lone striker up top. Curt Calov started in right midfield and the back three — Christian Curti, Abdi Salim and Olu Oyegunle — stayed the same to start. Buster Sjoberg, who had been injured for a few games, entered in the 87th minute for Leibold to add an extra defender to protect the 1-0 lead.

Noah Singelmann had the first couple of opportunities for Syracuse. After Singelmann slipped Opoku down the left flank, Opoku passed in a short ball to the box, which Johnson hustled to control. Johnson passed it back to Singelmann outside of the box.

Singelmann’s right-footed curler was bobbled by Cornell keeper Ryan Friedberg, but he eventually controlled it. On another shot, Singelmann had a great window, but he shanked the shot wide and low left.

Leibold played similarly to how he contributed in the first meeting between the two sides back in October. Syracuse often played down the left side and Leibold took on defenders, sending in crosses or creating corners. With 21 minutes left in the first half, Leibold attacked his defender on the left side and sent in a hard cross, but it was cleared away.

After Lalo Serrano committed a foul outside the box in the 25th minute, Calov lined up to take the free kick. He lifted it over the wall and it just went wide of the near post.

As the main go-to for free kicks, Calov played a few dangerous balls into the box. One even appeared to go into the back of the net from first glance but it went just right of the goal. Curti headed another attempt over the bar before one more bounced in front of goal in the second half.

Calov almost assisted on another goal in the first half after he saw Johnson making a diagonal run into the attack. Calov played him in and Johnson’s defender slipped. Johnson, on the left side of the box, took one touch to cut back, shooting to the near post. It was saved by Friedberg.

“We got enough spaces to go wide and switch from one side to the other,” Leibold said. “Today was much better. Today we came out and we knew exactly what we expected. We executed. We got the goal.”

Cornell head coach John Smith said in the teams’ first meeting, the Big Red had more control of the ball, in a game where they were “underestimated.” McIntyre said Cornell “deserved” to defeat the Orange back in October. But on Sunday, Syracuse was better, being more physical and winning 50-50 balls, particularly in the first half, Smith said.

“I felt we deserved the win last time,” Smith said. “This time, we’re not a secret anymore. And we had to come and bring it in. I felt that Syracuse brought it more than we did.”

Shealy only had two saves, but the latter was the biggest, setting up the 86th minute goal from Leibold. Shealy, who was credited with the assist, said from his point of view, he saw Leibold open in space and with opportunity to catch the opposition wrong-footed.

On another corner, Shealy was beaten. In the 73rd minute, Kiingi, unmarked, got his head on the cross and directed it to the lower-left corner. But it bounced off the post and Syracuse was freed because another Cornell player was offside near the goal line. Cornell finished with six offside calls.

“I don’t think we really showed our identity in the first half,” Smith said. “We’re more known for our relentlessness and constant pressure. Syracuse ultimately weathered that storm.”

In the 90th minute, Cornell took its ninth and final corner kick, advancing everyone forward. Allen got a shot off, but it was blocked and cleared out as the final seconds dwindled off the scoreboard, making Syracuse one win away from its second-ever College Cup.

“There’s only one thing better than playing and training with your team during Thanksgiving week,” McIntyre said. “That’s having a chance to train and play in the month of December, and we get afforded that based on a gutsy performance today.”

Published on November 27, 2022 at 6:28 pm

Contact Cole: [email protected] | @ColeBambini