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Syracuse (13-2-3, 5-1-2 Atlantic Coast) climbed up one spot to No. 3 in the weekly United Soccer Coaches poll after Duke, who was previously No. 3, fell to Clemson in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Orange defeated North Carolina 1-0 on Sunday to advance to the conference tournament semifinals against Virginia, which handed the Orange one of their two regular-season losses.
Against the No. 7 seeded Tar Heels, Syracuse struggled to get shots, generating just five and one on target. But the one shot on target — in the 86th minute — was the one goal of the game. After Russell Shealy made a routine save on a corner, he immediately punted it deep.
Levonte Johnson wasn’t expecting Shealy to punt it so soon, but Johnson ran up the field “just because.” After a small deflection, Johnson had a one-on-one, approaching the goal box. His defender slipped momentarily, but Johnson spun around him before dribbling into the box and poking the ball just past the goalkeeper and into the net.
The goal sent Syracuse into the semifinals, where it will host Virginia on Wednesday. In September, the No. 3-seeded Cavaliers stole three points against the Orange — playing with 10 men — with a last-minute goal. With a win, SU will play the winner of No. 4-seeded Wake Forest and No. 8-seeded Clemson in the ACC Championship in Cary, North Carolina. Syracuse defeated both teams in the regular season.
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