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In the landscape of college soccer, Syracuse and Penn State are nearly identical. Both programs are over 100 years old and have a national title. Both have been mainstays in the NCAA Tournament over the past decade. But both have seen recent success dwindle into mediocrity in the past two years.

The Orange — the 2022 National Champions — failed to make the tournament last season. Penn State hasn’t been in the postseason since 2021. Both have shown bright flashes through three games in 2025, but have also had hiccups, each going 1-1 in their first two contests.

Nonetheless, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre knows the program’s slight regression doesn’t mean the matchups aren’t equally as entertaining.

“These are the fun ones,” McIntyre said Wednesday. “You come to Syracuse to play in these games as a coach, and certainly as a player … It’s a real opportunity for us to test ourselves against one of the historically dominant programs in men’s college soccer.”

Thursday’s contest between the Orange and the Nittany Lions was as entertaining as advertised. Syracuse (1-1-1, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast) drew with Penn State (1-1-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten) in an end-to-end thriller. SU was outshot 13-8, but both sides generated plenty of scoring chances. Goalkeeper Tomas Hut was occupied in net for the Orange, tallying three saves in the second half.

“I thought it was a great college soccer game,” McIntyre said postgame. “Coming out of it, we were probably happy to have come away with a point. On another day, maybe we nick it right at the end … We’ve just got to work on our consistency.”

Indeed, Syracuse had a chance to steal a win late. The Orange spent the majority of the second half on the back foot, but the final ten minutes devolved into both squads playing on the counterattack. They traded good looks, but none was better than Landon Darko’s chance in the last minute of the match.

With about 30 seconds remaining, SU caught Penn State’s midfield in transition and sparked a counterattack. Carlos Zambrano released Darko with a perfect ball between the Nittany Lions’ center backs. Darko, through on goal, tried to dribble around Penn State keeper Jonathan Evans, but he got a hand on the ball before Darko could get a shot off.

It was utter chaos on both sides of the pitch. But it was that kind of battle from the start.

The first 10 minutes of the match were primarily played in the midfield, with both squads failing to provide much service to their forwards. Penn State built some momentum in the ninth minute, when Kai Phillip had a header from close range saved by Hut. And while the Nittany Lions had two corner kicks early, they ultimately couldn’t capitalize.

On the other end, Syracuse made the most of its first real chance of the night. Nathan Scott whipped a cross into the box from the left wing, which was headed away by PSU midfielder Ben Liscum. The ball fell kindly for Kelvin Da Costa on the edge of the box, who blasted a half volley off a Nittany Lions defender into the back of the net. Fourteen minutes into the match, Da Costa’s first collegiate goal put the Orange up 1-0.

“Coach (McIntyre) always says we need goals from midfield,” Da Costa said. “I swear I haven’t scored in years, but I saw the goal, saw the ball, and hit it as hard as I can … It was amazing.”

SU didn’t have much time to celebrate, though, as the Nittany Lions mounted several big chances of their own. Penn State’s high press helped generate a good look that Ben Madore sent wide of Hut’s near post. Malick Daouda got on the end of a cross a few minutes later, but his effort from close range trickled wide of the post.

Just before halftime, though, the Nittany Lions found their equalizer. Phillip laid off a pass to Freddie Bell just outside the box, and he smashed a shot into the top-left corner of Hut’s goal to level the game at one.

“I thought Penn State would have been hard done to go into halftime one nothing down,” McIntyre said. “It was disappointing they scored right before halftime.”

Syracuse opened the second half with more efficient attacking play. The Orange won a corner early, which Sachiel Ming nearly scored directly. Six minutes later, Chimere Omeze did well to hold off his defender in the box, but his shot was narrowly batted wide by a diving Evans.

Penn State stole most of the momentum throughout most of the second half, but Hut stayed strong for the Orange, turning in what McIntyre called his best performance in a Syracuse shirt. He pushed a long shot from Frederik Flaskager over the bar before narrowly denying Daouda’s left-footed effort from outside the box. Hut made another crucial save on a cross that was bound for the bottom corner after deflecting off Tim Brdaric.

“I just trusted the guys in front of me and ultimately kept out as much as I could,” Hut said. “I wish I’d kept the first one out, but I can’t complain with a big result against a big name like Penn State.”

In the final five minutes, Zambrano forced Evans into a save on a left-footed strike from outside the 18. Penn State got two throw-ins near Syracuse’s box, but they resulted in nothing. Darko’s last-minute effort was the final piece of an action-packed second half.

“We did the same thing we did against Loyola – we held on,” McIntyre said. “We bent, but we didn’t break, and that’s a good sign with a new team and a young team.”

While both Syracuse and Penn State haven’t enjoyed the success the historic programs have become accustomed to in recent years, their matchups still carry loads of intensity.

But for a Syracuse squad trying to piece together its identity before a difficult conference schedule, it’s the type of test it needed.

Published on August 28, 2025 at 11:21 pm
harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6