Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Over the past three weeks, Syracuse men’s soccer has resurrected its season. After stooping two games under .500 early on, SU rattled off four straight wins before its 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh Saturday.

Now, the Orange sit eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, five points clear of last-place Boston College. They are set up for a top-half ACC Tournament seed in November, but with three regular-season games left, SU still has work to do.

Entering the postseason with momentum is crucial in determining whether Syracuse crashes early or makes a deep run. SU can maintain — or even improve — its ACC seeding to ensure it has every leg up, including home field advantage in the first round.

“We’re a team that, on our day, we’ll give anyone a hard game,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said on Oct. 9. “If we can go on a roll and we can be playing our best soccer at the business end of the season, let’s see what we can do.”

Here are four keys for the Orange to finish the regular season strong and set themselves up for success in the ACC Tournament:

Take advantage of shots on goal

Syracuse hasn’t consistently converted its shots on goal. As its offense settled in to begin the season, it couldn’t capitalize on its chances. Across the first six games, its 38 shots on target produced just three goals — a measly 7.8% conversion rate.

Recently, SU has started to take advantage. Nine shots on goal turned into three scores versus Colgate. Six against Cal and five versus Pitt yielded two tallies both times.

However, there’s still some cause for concern. Against now-No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 13, Syracuse buried its only two shots on goal. It did the same in its recent 2-0 win over then-No. 25 SMU. In both games, SU had a sub-2.00 xG, or expected goals per game, per Sofascore. That figure means that, with the number and quality of their chances, the Orange should’ve fared worse.

Ilyan Sarech | Design Editor

Syracuse’s margin for error because of its few opportunities is razor thin. If just one of its looks goes awry, it could be handed a defeat.

For a team that’s had its fair share of struggles, that’s entirely possible. SU must both create more chances and finish the ones it’s given to win games down the stretch.

Ease Hut’s workload

Through the first six games of the season, Syracuse didn’t rely on starting goalie Tomas Hut much. He faced 36 shots, 24 of which were in two games, and allowed three goals in the span. But SU only won two of those contests due to offensive struggles.

Hut has been tested more than ever as of late. He’s been bombarded with 68 shots over SU’s last five contests, including 18 by Boston College and 21 by Pitt — the most any of the Orange’s opponents have totaled in a game this campaign.

But before allowing four goals on Saturday, Hut embraced the challenge. He posted four straight shutouts and compiled 22 saves through the five-game slate, more than doubling his prior season total.

The issue is, Hut may not hold this pace as Syracuse begins facing tougher teams, a concern that was only exacerbated by his poor showing against the Panthers. However, there’s only so much he can do when he faces 21 shots. To keep its shot stopper fresh, SU’s defense must find a way to limit the pressure on him.

“There’s been moments when Tomas has had to step up, but I think Garrett Holman, Tim Brdaric, (Ernest Mensah), Gavin Wigg, Chimere Omeze, (they’re) collectively doing a wonderful job,” McIntyre said of his defense Thursday.

Lean on Zambrano, Omeze offensively

The Orange’s offensive production has been mostly spread out. Nine players have scored a goal for SU, with Carlos Zambrano’s four leading the pack and only three players — Zambrano, Omeze and freshman Landon Darko — sitting with multiple goals.

However, the same can’t be said for the shots department. Of the five players with over 11 shots, Zambrano and Omeze are the only ones with multiple goals. The duo is not only creating more opportunities than their peers, but they’re also making the most of them.

Three of Zambrano’s scores came during his hat trick against Colgate on Sept. 23. He also pitched in a highlight-reel, long-range strike to ice Syracuse’s win over SMU.

“He’s one of the players that’s different. He has an unpredictability to him,” McIntyre said of Zambrano. “It’s about how we bring that out in the right times and in the right areas of the field.”

Omeze’s goals have been less spectacular, yet perfectly-timed. His first gave SU a late lead against Stanford, and his second — a header off a long throw-in — increased the Orange’s lead in their victory over Cal. He pitched in a third score early versus Pitt to knot the game at 1-1.

Without the two, the Orange’s offense wouldn’t be the same. Players like Michael Acquah, Sachiel Ming and Bright Nutornutsi would instead be in charge, and while they all showed scoring flashes in 2024, their 58 combined shots have produced just one goal this season.

In crunch time, Syracuse simply can’t rely on them. Its offense needs to run through Zambrano and Omeze, and the stat sheet reflects that.

Get points in any way

Syracuse’s final stretch is arguably the toughest run on its schedule. After facing unranked Cornell on Oct. 21, SU hosts No. 17 North Carolina before traveling to Raleigh to face No. 6 NC State — two of the three highest ranked teams it’ll play in the regular season.

McIntyre called all three squads “national tournament caliber.” That’s proved to be true so far. Cornell has held its own in the Ivy League, boasting a 9-2-1 record. UNC also has just two losses on the year, going on a substantial undefeated run from mid-September to mid-October. NC State, the best squad of the bunch, will be a different beast. The Wolfpack lead the ACC in goals allowed (two) and goals scored (33).

“The challenge that we’re going to have on Saturday is different than the challenge going to Cornell, same with North Carolina,” McIntyre said Thursday. “A number of those teams will have a say in the ACC shakedown as well as the national tournament.”

Syracuse’s performance in ranked matchups thus far provides optimism for the daunting slate. Despite being 1-2 in those games, SU has stayed competitive every time.

In the Orange’s one-goal loss to Stanford, they held a lead with 11 minutes left. Against then-No. 19 Duke six days later, Syracuse kept the Blue Devils off the board for 71 minutes after conceding the first goal in a 2-0 loss. Nine days ago versus SMU, it maintained control after Darko’s late first-half score to secure a two-goal win.

While going 3-0 in the final stretch may be unrealistic, even a win or a few draws would be beneficial. The Orange need to snag points from these matchups to prevent teams from leapfrogging them in the standings and build on a potential NCAA Tournament case.

Published on October 20, 2025 at 10:38 pm
Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @Noahnuss99