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After winning the program’s first ever national championship on Monday, Syracuse’s coaching staff was honored by the United Soccer Coaches as National Coaching Staff of the Year. This comes after they were awarded with USC South Region Staff of the Year and Ian McIntyre was awarded Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

McIntyre, Jukka Masalin, Sean Lawlor and Michael Flynn take home the award for the first time in Syracuse history. The Orange improved from 2-7-4 in 2020 and 8-8-2 in 2021 to 19-2-4 this year. Syracuse won the ACC Atlantic Division, ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, just the fourth ACC school to complete the treble. The 19 wins are a program-best in a single season.

Despite starting the year unranked and picked to finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division, the Orange began on an eight-game unbeaten streak and didn’t lose after Oct. 4. 

This off-season, McIntyre and his staff brought in possibly the best attack duo in the country through the transfer portal, a large factor in the team’s rapid turnaround. 

Levonte Johnson transferred from Seattle and earned First-Team All-ACC and First-Team All-America honors. On Thursday, the senior was named a finalist for the Hermann trophy, the highest individual honor in college soccer. 

Nathan Opoku, a sophomore who played a year at junior college program Lindsey Wilson, was also named First-Team All-ACC and earned Third-Team All-America honors. He scored and assisted on Syracuse’s two goals in its national championship win over Indiana.

McIntyre and Masalin were part of the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year in 2012 and McIntyre was named 2015 ACC Coach of the Year.

Published on December 16, 2022 at 8:50 pm

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