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Usually, Ian McIntyre didn’t let his team have burgers.

But after Syracuse upset three teams in a row to win the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, he relented. On the bus ride home, the Orange stopped at Burger King and all wore Burger King crowns.

“That moment where we won where he was like, ‘alright, I’ll let you guys go get it. Enjoy yourself,’” team captain Liam Callahan said. “It’s such a childish thing… but we’re all dumb idiots and just enjoy spending time with each other.”

Syracuse — who was in danger of missing the conference tournament at one point — beat Notre Dame in the final to win as the No. 7 seed, still the lowest seed ever to win. The Orange rode that momentum to the 2015 College Cup, their first appearance until this season, where they finally took home the program’s first national title.

In 2015, Syracuse lost in heartbreaking fashion in penalties to Clemson in the semifinals, but this time around, Russell Shealy made two saves, and Amferny Sinclair drove home the winning penalty to beat Indiana 2-2 (7-6).

Players from the 2015 team describe SU’s run through the postseason as “magical.” Much like this season, where the Orange began the year unranked and picked to finish fourth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, it didn’t appear so at first.

Syracuse lost six starters from its 2014 squad that attained the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking, but lost in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The entire backline departed, as well as Hermann trophy finalist Alex Bono.

In stepped an entirely new group in defense with some now very familiar names. Miles Robinson and Kamal Miller, now starters for the American and Canadian national teams, jumped into the backline as freshmen.

Despite the turnover, the Orange gelled quickly. After wins, Oyvind Alseth and some of the other European players led resounding chants in the locker room. But the chants didn’t stop there. When the team took the bus from South Campus to main campus to go to bars, they belted out “shalalala oh Syracuse” all the way there.

The Orange would often arrive nearly an hour early to training to get extra reps in. Matt Stith, a reserve goalkeeper from 2011-2014 and a volunteer assistant in 2015, said it was not so much to practice, but to simply spend more time with each other. Robinson described the 2015 team as the closest he’s ever been a part of.

Players became familiar with “down dog,” thanks to assistant coach Matt Verni’s pregame yoga sessions. On Saturdays after training, the team gathered together to watch the Premier League.

“I’ve been chasing this feeling of togetherness and brotherhood ever since,” Stith said.

On game day mornings, SU played five-versus-two rondos to warm up. The loser had to sing a song in front of the team before the game.

Come the holidays, the entire team ate Thanksgiving dinner at McIntyre’s house. McIntyre’s wife ordered a bunch of food and the team played cornhole and of course, soccer in his backyard.

“We just felt like a family after that,” midfielder Chris Nanco said.

Toward the end of the season, volunteer assistant Blair Stevenson wrote a poem to hype up the team and recited it before each postseason match.

“Those are the memories and stuff that sit with you for the rest of your life and (you) never forget,” Callahan said.

After starting the year 2-2-1 and falling out of the rankings, Syracuse reeled off five straight wins to return to the rankings, where they hovered in the teens for the rest of the campaign.

After the win streak, they were on the precipice of beating national power North Carolina. SU led 1-0 for most of the match, but gave up goals in the 74th and 83rd minutes to lose 2-1. The UNC loss was the first time the Orange felt like they were in control and could have won, Callahan said.

“I think that that game was really a good thing to happen for us because it made things a little bit sweeter for us when we came back and played them again,” Callahan said.

After an error at the back led to a 90th minute defeat to Clemson, Syracuse was on the verge of missing the conference tournament. They needed a result against NC State the following week to qualify for the postseason, but conceded a goal in the 68th minute to go down 1-0.

However, SU responded. Striker Ben Polk tied the game in the 75th minute and Louis Cross headed a corner into the back of the net in the 85th minute to secure Syracuse’s qualification.

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“We’re a good team and there’s a chance we wouldn’t make the ACC Tournament. We needed enough points,” McIntyre said after the game. “It’s brutal. It’s great. It’s exciting. There’s still a lot to be played.”

Syracuse cruised past the Wolfpack at home in the first round of the conference tournament to set up a long-awaited rematch with No. 2 UNC and the first of three consecutive road tournament games. Callahan said the Orange called themselves the “road warriors.”

“We basically traveled for like two or three weeks straight, but I think that that was actually a huge benefit for us because we were all together 24/7,” Callahan said. “That really brought the team a lot closer and did something that a lot of people and other teams weren’t able to do.”

Before the game, McIntyre told his team one of the four quarterfinal games was going to be an upset, and Syracuse was going to be the team to pull it out. After extra time ended at 1-1, the Tar Heels and Orange headed to penalty kicks. Syracuse had a chance to win, but Noah Rhynhart’s potential game-winning shot was saved and the shootout extended into sudden death.

Callahan scorched the top corner on his attempt. But on UNC’s ensuing PK, Warren Marshall blasted the ball over the bar, sending the Orange to the semifinals and another meeting with No. 3 seed Clemson.

“I think that PK win was a big thing to set up that huge run we had, and really show us that we could take on any team,” Callahan said.

In the rematch against the Tigers, Polk scored twice in a 2-0 Orange win to reach the program’s first-ever ACC title game. Syracuse and Clemson had a fierce rivalry simply based on how many times they played each other, Nanco said. Callahan had a rivalry with Diego Campos and fellow midfielder Juuso Pasanen had rivalry with Oliver Shannon, both of whom now play professionally in Europe.

Syracuse traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to face No. 4-seeded Notre Dame and complete its trifecta of road upsets. Polk scored the game-winner in the opening minutes of the second half to propel Syracuse to its first ACC title.

“My freshman year, we played against Notre Dame and I think we lost 4-0 at home and I immediately thought ‘damn, I picked the wrong school to go to,’” Nanco said. “Two years later, we’re in the final against Notre Dame and we get payback.”

Syracuse advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where it earned a program-best No. 6 seed. The Orange faced Dartmouth in the snow in their opening game and picked up a 2-1 win.

In the next round against Seattle, the Orange won 3-1 in a dominant effort. Robinson opened the scoring with a header in the second minute and Callahan said it was clear early on they would advance.

In the Elite Eight, Syracuse faced another rematch, this time against Boston College, who it lost to 2-1 in the regular season finale. Nanco said the Eagles had “no business” being on the field with the Orange, who won 1-0 to advance to their first College Cup.

In the College Cup, the Orange faced their fifth postseason rematch, against an opponent they played in the regular season and the ACC Tournament: Clemson.

“Every year we played them like four times,” Nanco said. “‘Oh my god, we have to play these guys again?’”

Fifteen minutes in, Callahan broke his foot. He tried to come back in, but couldn’t keep going and was forced to watch the remainder from the sidelines.

The game was back-and-forth, but both teams knew each other so well that neither could break through, Nanco said. Syracuse outshot Clemson 15-5 and Robinson remembers the Orange having the better chances, but Clemson goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, now with the Houston Dynamo, made eight saves.

Extra time ended at 0-0 and the match went to penalties, where Clemson won 4-1 to advance to the championship game.

The Orange were despondent the morning after, but understood the importance of their run for helping to build the program and “snowball” to future success. Callahan said there was a sense of pride knowing that what they did that year was something that wouldn’t be replicated again — until this season’s triumph.

“That whole year in itself is something I think about quite often,” Callahan said. “Everywhere you go, people always tell you to enjoy the moment and cherish the time you have, because you’ll look back on it, back in the day, and wish you were back there. And it’s definitely the case….It was a time that I’ll never forget and shaped who I am today.”

Published on December 13, 2022 at 12:54 am

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