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The referee’s whistle blew and the start of extra time began. Head coach Ian McIntyre shepherded his men from the rented space heater on the sideline to the field, trying to break a 1-1 tie with Penn. 

A week earlier, Levonte Johnson rescued Syracuse in the waning minutes in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals, scoring the game-winner in the 86th minute to give SU a 1-0 win over UNC.

This time, Johnson didn’t take long to make himself Syracuse’s hero again.

Johnson scored in the first minute of extra time — his sixth game-winning goal of the year — to complete SU’s 2-1 comeback and secure a spot among the NCAA Tournament’s last 16. Coming from behind has been something the team has gotten used to, he said.

“I turned across the ball, hoping that the defender would whiff it and he did,” Johnson said. “It got to my feet, and I really couldn’t feel my feet at all because they were frozen. I just hit the ball and it went in.”

In their first meeting in 101 years, the Orange beat the Quakers 2-1 in extra time in blustery conditions at SU Soccer Stadium, securing its 15th win of the year, its most since 2015. Syracuse (15-2-4, 5-1-2 Atlantic Coast) controlled much of the play early on, but Penn (13-3-2, 6-1 Ivy League) had many threatening chances and even scared the Orange by scoring first. Syracuse advances to play Cornell, the only opponent this year it hasn’t beaten.

The Orange nearly scored twice in the first extra-time period. Just minutes after Johnson’s go-ahead goal, Syracuse had a breakaway chance. Nick Christoffersen came out to scoop up the ball — outside the box — but no handball was called, much to the incredulity of the fans and the Syracuse bench alike. 

McIntyre couldn’t believe it — repeatedly tapping his arm to indicate a hand ball. Postgame, it was clear McIntyre didn’t want to disparage the officiating, simply saying he thought it was a good decision to keep 11 men on the field in extra time. Despite the no-call, a last ditch Penn corner kick — with the Quaker goalie up in the box — bounced around threateningly before Jeorgio Kocevski cleared it away to seal the win.

After slow midfield play early on, SU and its two first team All-ACC forwards tried to push forward on the break like they have all year. Nathan Opoku started three attacks to Johnson in the opening 15 minutes, but all three fizzled out. Five minutes later, a Johnson-led attack pinballed around the box for over a minute before materializing into nothing.

Syracuse has gotten used to controlling possession all year, but Penn sat back and allowed it even more time on the ball in the first half than it’s been used to. SU pushed forward every chance, but the final pass was often broken up. Penn defended with blocks of four defenders in the midfield and defense, a formation that has stymied Syracuse on other occasions, like its last loss to Cornell on Oct. 4. 

Johnson said Penn’s compactness made it “very difficult for us to find those pockets to play.”

Quaker head coach Brian Gill said the first half’s cagey nature was partially due to the Quakers not wanting to concede an early opening goal. Center back Nick Schimbeno agreed, and attributed it to the fact Penn hadn’t played an ACC team this year. 

Penn gave Syracuse a serious scare in the final minutes of the first half. After the Orange mostly dominated play for the first 40 minutes, Ben Stitz unleashed a rocket from well outside the box that clanged off the underside of the bar and bounced out of the goal.  

Syracuse started the second half with a flurry of shots, forcing a couple corner kicks. But on the other end, Penn secured a corner kick. Stas Korzeniowski headed the cross from the short corner kick into the air. Schimbeno took advantage of a disoriented Russell Shealy to stun Syracuse and take the lead. 

Minutes later, Penn twice exposed Syracuse on the counter attack. Charlie Gaffney beat Olu Oyegunle up the right side and passed the ball inside, but Abdi Salim blocked the shot. Just a couple minutes later, Penn found itself on the break again, but Shealy dove on the attempt. 

After 50 minutes of strong play, Syracuse seemed lost. 

“Push the midfield!” head coach Ian McIntyre yelled.

As if on cue, Kocevski drove the ball down the pitch with numbers. Amidst freezing temperatures and howling winds, Syracuse’s build-up play had often been lethargic. But almost as if a harbinger for future success, the Quaker penalty box suddenly became illuminated in a rare glimpse of sunlight. Kocevski found Opoku at the penalty spot, and he smashed the ball past Christoffersen to tie the game just seven minutes after Schimbeno’s go-ahead effort.

“That goal changed the game again,” McIntyre said. “Because I think we calmed down, it was a good goal, and then you saw us growing into it.”

Play slowed down after the Orange equalizer, but with 20 minutes remaining, Penn counterattacked. Korzeniowski sprinted down the left wing before passing to Gaffney, who had a step on his man in the box and only Shealy to beat. But the ACC Tournament MVP ran out and stuck his leg out to block a potential Quaker game-winner. Syracuse held the Quaker forward duo of Korzeniowski and Stitz, who combined for 22 goals this year and all three in Penn’s first round win against Rutgers, to just one shot on goal.

Syracuse has only lost to two teams this year — Virginia and Cornell. The Orange avenged their regular-season loss to the Cavaliers in the ACC semifinals last week and have an opportunity to do the same against Cornell. But this time, it’s not a midweek after-class game, it’s a chance to go to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. 

“I expect them to come out strong on Sunday,” Johnson said. “But I feel like we have the edge over them.”

Published on November 20, 2022 at 4:56 pm

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