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Since Syracuse claimed its first national title in 2022, it’s experienced a gradual fall from grace.

In 2023, the Orange advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference Semifinals and seemed on track to defend their conference crown. Instead, a 3-1 loss to then-No. 7 North Carolina sent them packing. Syracuse squeaked into the NCAA Tournament days later via an at-large bid, but a second-round loss to then-No. 8 New Hampshire thrust it into a long offseason.

The 2024 campaign marked another step back for the Orange. Plagued by offensive inconsistency, their .500 record culminated in a first-round exit in the ACC Tournament. Syracuse also missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Prominent starters from last season like Andre-Cutler DeJesus, Nicholas Kaloukian and leading scorer Gabe Threadgold have now departed, making way for a new wave of talent to shine under head coach Ian McIntyre. At the same time, some familiar faces will look to turn the page on Syracuse’s disappointing 2024 campaign. If SU wants to return to national title contention in 2025, it must rely on a mix of returners and newcomers at the forefront of its lineup.

Here are the four biggest questions for Syracuse men’s soccer entering 2025:

Which key returners will step up?

Much of Syracuse’s offensive and defensive corps from recent seasons is now gone, and with it a litany of in-game experience. With first-year players and transfer portal additions now attempting to replace them, the Orange will need to lean on their returning players more than ever in 2025.

Within the backline, Syracuse will likely depend on Chimere Omeze to set the pace. Omeze enjoyed a standout 2024 campaign, where he finished third on the team in points with seven and earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors. Omeze is only a sophomore, but his experience will prove crucial for the newfangled defensive group around him.

At the other end of the pitch, Syracuse will look to veteran starters Nathan Scott and Michael Acquah to pick up where they left off in 2024. Scott slotted home two goals in his first year at SU after transferring from California, Riverside. Acquah, another portal addition and SU’s only returning forward, shone as its top distributor with a team-high six assists.

Primarily reserves in 2024, Kelvin Da Costa, Carlos Zambrano, Giona Leibold and Kristjan Fortier will aim to make a more significant impact. The four combined for only seven points, epitomizing a frustrating year for Syracuse’s offense.

How will SU’s new transfers make an impact?

In early 2025, Syracuse bolstered its depth by adding seven new players via the transfer portal.

Three of its six rostered defenders are from that haul. The trio — made up of graduate students Tim Brdaric and Santiago Frias, along with senior Ernest Mensah Jr. — should support Omeze whenever SU is trapped on its own end.

Brdaric, a 2021 Albanian Cup winner, is someone McIntyre believes will bring a strong physical presence to his backline. Frias, who will transition into the ACC after spending the last four years between UAlbany and Akron, will line up next to him. To round out the trio, Mensah will try to boost SU back to the NCAA Tournament after helping Xavier capture a Big East title two seasons ago.

To fill the void left in Syracuse’s midfield, McIntyre also prioritized securing yet another graduate transfer in Tim Noeding, who racked up 14 goals and 33 assists at Bethel College. At forward, Bright Nutornutsi can also become a catalyst of SU’s offense as a dynamic striker from Grand Canyon.

Freshmen transfers Bryson Rodriguez and Juan Martinez-Bastidas will increase SU’s depth, but will likely see minimal playing time.

Can Syracuse’s offense bounce back?

The Orange’s biggest mystery heading into 2025 will be whether their offense can rebound from last season.

In 2024, SU’s attack disappeared when it mattered most. The unit was held to one or fewer goals on 10 different occasions, including four shutout defeats. One of them even came against unranked Le Moyne in a historic 1-0 upset on Syracuse’s home turf. In early November, another one-goal performance spelled the Orange’s undoing in their first-round meeting with Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament.

Syracuse finished the campaign with a goal differential of minus one. Compared to ACC foes, its 26 total goals and 4.06 points per game each ranked second-to-last in the conference.

Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer

Only four of SU’s top nine point scorers from last year are still on its roster after contributors like Braedon Smith and Daniel Burko transferred out. But through the Orange’s three exhibition games, their new talent has shown potential, scoring four of their six tallies.

While it’s unclear how McIntyre will incorporate his added attacking pieces into the Orange’s lineup in 2025, doing so correctly may be the spark their offense needs to rediscover its scoring touch.

How will SU fare in its end-of-season gauntlet?

As is common in the ACC, SU will grind through a grueling five-game stretch to finish its schedule. The slate includes road tests at Cornell (Oct. 21) and NC State (Oct. 31) and clashes at SU Soccer Stadium with SMU (Oct. 11) and North Carolina (Oct. 25).

But perhaps the toughest matchup of them all is when SU visits Pittsburgh (Oct. 18), which finished as the conference’s top seed last season.

Although Syracuse saw only two of these opponents in 2024, those contests were some of the only bright spots amid an otherwise unsatisfying campaign. In late September, the Orange’s defense turned in a nearly perfect outing by holding the Big Red scoreless until the 85th minute in a slim 1-0 loss. Then, in its regular-season finale against then-No. 3 Pitt, Syracuse entered the postseason on a high note with a 2-0 upset over the Panthers — its first top-five victory since 2022.

This end-of-season stretch could determine what SU’s playoff picture will look like. If the Orange can win the majority of their games, they will drastically improve their chances of earning a favorable seed in the ACC Tournament and the Big Dance. On the other hand, dropping the critical contests could push Syracuse into another uncomfortably brief postseason.

Published on August 20, 2025 at 9:55 pm
Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu | @ma77hew_gray