Ian McIntyre becomes program wins leader with SU’s triumph over Colgate
Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre stands on the sidelines during its 3-0 win over Colgate. The win officially made him SU's winningest coach ever. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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On the sidelines of SU Soccer Stadium, Syracuse head soccer coach Ian McIntyre paces back and forth. He hollers out instructions to his squad in his recognizable English accent. His voice and his warm personality have become synonymous with the Orange soccer program over the past 15 years, as he’s rebuilt it from the ground up.
So, when that voice tells his players to make a change, it’s in their best interests to listen.
That’s why, when Sachiel Ming won a penalty in the 58th minute of SU’s midweek clash with Colgate, there was no question as to who would take the shot.
Penalty kicks have been one of several offensive struggles the Orange have had this season. SU was 0-for-2 on spot kicks entering Tuesday night, and both misses would’ve helped solidify results against Yale and New Haven. A different SU attacker took each penalty. But McIntyre was resolute when he selected his penalty-taker Tuesday night.
“If Carlos (Zambrano) was on the field tonight when we got the penalty, he was always taking it,” he said.
The decision helped the Orange — and McIntyre — make history.
Zambrano’s second-half penalty goal sparked the SU attack for its most efficient performance of the season. Zambrano went on to bag a hat trick to lead Syracuse (3-4-2, 0-2-0 Atlantic Coast) past Colgate (4-3-2, 0-1-1 Patriot League) 3-0 for the Orange’s first home win of the season.
With the win, McIntyre surpassed his predecessor, Dean Foti, as Syracuse’s all-time leader in career wins with 142. It’s a record that further cements a legendary resume built through his 16-year tenure with the Orange.
“We won two games in our first year, we won three games our second year. I was fortunate to still have a job and have guys believing in what we were trying to do,” McIntyre said postgame. “I don’t think I ever thought about being here this long, but I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful support. It was nice to (break the record) at home with this group.”
When McIntyre arrived at Syracuse in 2010, he inherited a team that had won just three games the year prior. The Orange hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1984. But SU was keen on McIntyre being the one to lead them to a return.
“He has the ability to create a culture that will foster championship play at the national level,” then-SU athletic director Daryl Gross said in a statement shortly after McIntyre’s hiring. “He has a tremendous history and background of success. His reputation is fantastic and his expertise is among the best in the game … We look forward to watching him take the men’s soccer program to the highest level of play.”
In McIntyre’s first few seasons, it didn’t appear those lofty goals would be realized. The Orange won a combined five games in his first two years, including a 2010 campaign where they suffered their worst single-season record since 1971.
“It was brutal,” SU assistant coach Jukka Masalin, who came to Syracuse with McIntyre, said in a 2016 interview with The Daily Orange. “It took a while to change that culture. A couple years we needed to dig pretty deep.”
But once McIntyre began working with his own recruiting classes and instilling new tactics, such as the transition from a traditional 4-4-2 formation to a 3-5-2, Syracuse saw improvement. The Orange won double-digit games the next five seasons, making NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. SU made its first College Cup in 2015.
Ian McIntyre talks with Bright Nutornutsi during SU’s 3-0 victory over Colgate. McIntyre has won 142 games in his illustrious 15-year career with Syracuse. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
“If you had a conversation with me at the end of that (first) season and said, ‘Yeah, five year’s time, we’re going to be ready to board a plane to go to the College Cup,’ I’d have hugged you … or I’d have slapped you,” McIntyre said before a December 2015 matchup with Clemson.
Meanwhile, McIntyre was helping SU develop talent in a way the program never had before. Syracuse has had a player selected in nine of the last 11 Major League Soccer SuperDrafts, and the Orange have had 12 players selected in the first round. Some have gone on to star internationally, like Canadian stars Tajon Buchanan and Kamal Miller, who became the first SU alums to appear in a World Cup.
On the pitch, McIntyre’s work culminated in a roller-coaster 2022 campaign. The Orange entered the year unranked, coming on the heels of a mediocre 8-8-2 season. Syracuse went 14-2-4 in the regular season before pulling off a miracle run to the College Cup. SU knocked off Indiana on penalties to win the program’s first-ever national title.
He finished that year with 123 career wins. From there, his pace slowed. The Orange were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and posted a mediocre 7-7-3 campaign in 2024.
McIntyre was on the cusp of the record for nearly a month leading into Tuesday, but SU couldn’t pick up a nonconference win or a victory against a ranked ACC squad.
Nonetheless, McIntyre remains that the record was never on the forefront of his mind. On Sept. 10, he said he had no idea he was even close. His wife broke the news to him, who was told by his daughter, who was told by her roommate.
“(The chance to claim the record) is very nice, but not a lot of thought has gone into it,” he said. “Winning just means you’ve had some good teams and that you’ve been fortunate enough to have some longevity. I hope to be evaluated eventually based on how we handle the tough times during the season, things like that.”
If McIntyre wants to be weighed based on his response to adversity, the Orange have presented him plenty of chances to do so in 2025. A loss to Duquesne with his record on the line was the first. A scoreless draw to New Haven and a late collapse against then-No. 8 Stanford prolonged the wait even further.
It’s clear SU has work to do to reclaim championship glory. McIntyre’s group has had its share of hiccups while trying to do so. But he and his squad put that aside Tuesday, delivering their best overall performance of the season.
“(The record’s) been due for a little bit,” Zambrano said postgame. “After scoring those goals, of course, I was happy for myself, but I was also happy for him. I know he’s been very frustrated and very anxious to get (the record), and I’m very thankful that today we could get it for him.”
National Champion. United Soccer Coaches College Coach of the Year. Two-time ACC Coach of the Year. Twenty-three players drafted into Major League Soccer. After 15 years, the all-time wins record lies where it rightfully belongs — with the man who’s taken Syracuse higher than it’s ever soared before.
