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On Sept. 24, 2022, Virginia’s Leo Afonso scored an 85th-minute goal to hand Syracuse the first loss of its National Championship-winning campaign. On Sunday, it appeared as though history was repeating itself.

Afonso put Virginia up 1-0 in the 51st minute with the Cavaliers’ first shot on goal. Afonso controlled the ball within the 18-yard box, firing a shot that was blocked by SU defender Olu Oyegunle, creating a scramble in the box. UVA’s Will Citron made a run at it, knocking it backward toward Afonso.

The forward fired an attempt that deflected off the hands of Syracuse goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham and into the back of the net. Heading into Sunday, the Cavaliers were 9-0-1 when scoring the first goal of a match.

But the Orange changed that. No. 22 Syracuse (9-3-6, 2-1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) prevailed despite Afonso’s strike, squeaking by No. 9 Virginia (10-4-3, 5-2-1 ACC) 1(4)-1(3) in penalty kicks and advancing to the ACC Tournament semifinals against North Carolina. Afonso, who was playing in his first game since Oct. 13, has been in and out of UVA’s lineup due to injuries. He’s tormented SU in the past, scoring in each of the four games he’s played against the Orange. Still, Syracuse stormed back, equalizing in the 84th minute before winning on penalties.

After suffering an injury on Sept. 12 against James Madison, Afonso had played in just one game since. But, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said he expected Afonso to play. McIntyre knew facing UVA’s attack of Afonso, Stephen Annor-Gyamfi and Mouhameth Thiam, would present a challenge.

“(Virginia’s) got so many weapons…Then you’ve got the ability to bring Afonso off the bench,” McIntyre said. “Our guys did really well to try and keep it quiet.”

Though, SU hadn’t done well in the past. Afonso scored the lone goal in the Cavaliers’ 1-0 defeat of the Orange last regular season. Then, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Afonso netted a go-ahead goal in the 66th minute. But Syracuse came back with an 84th-minute equalizer and a 5-3 penalty shootout victory to qualify for the ACC Championship.

The result was eerily similar in Sunday’s quarterfinal rematch. Leveque took a shot within the 18 while moving to his right, sending it past a diving Joey Batrouni in net for UVA to tie the game in the 84th minute.

During penalties, Afonso converted Virginia’s first attempt. Afonso’s effort was followed by a low shot from Lorenzo Boselli that Batrouni easily corralled. Virginia took a 2-0 lead after Axel Ahlander scored. In response, Syracuse nailed each of its next four tries. Thiam hit the post on UVA’s fifth attempt and Daniel Diaz-Bonilla followed up with a successful penalty to give SU a spot in the semifinals.

“Penalty shootouts are about momentum, and certainly (Virginia) got the start,” McIntyre said of UVA’s early 2-0 lead in penalties. “But you’ve got to make sure that you score the next one. And we did that.”

Syracuse’s ability to answer Afonso propelled it to a victory. Afonso came off the bench in the 34th minute but stayed quiet, failing to register a shot on goal in the first half.

Afonso slowly got acclimated in the second half, trying to get on the end while searching for a through ball. SU defender Josh Belluz ran in stride with him, bodying Afonso out of play into the netting behind the goal. In the 50th minute, Syracuse’s Buster Sjoberg matched up with Afonso on the right flank during a UVA attack. Sjoberg cut in front of Afonso and booted the ball out of play, thwarting a potential chance.

It didn’t take much longer for Afonso to make his mark. His goal was just his second of the season, and a familiar sight for the Orange. From there, though, Syracuse prevented Afonso from making matters worse.

The Orange man marked him all over the field. In the 54th minute, Afonso attempted to muscle past the two defenders to be the first one to a loose ball within the 18. Oyegunle and Sjoberg held strong and cleared the danger.

Virginia continued to feed Afonso over the next few minutes, but SU continued to cut off any balls played to Afonso. The attacker was subbed out in the 60th minute for Annor as the Cavaliers looked to hold onto their lead.

UVA failed to register a shot on target for the next 24 minutes as Syracuse pushed for an equalizer. Putting Afonso on the sidelines came back to bite UVA. SU tied the game in the 84th minute.

The Cavaliers subbed Afonso back in after Leveque’s game-tying goal, and he was nearly the hero as time was beginning to expire. In the 90th minute, as he made a run upfield, Paul Wiese booted a long through ball out for Afonso. The forward ran past Sjoberg, putting him one-on-one against Wickham.

Afonso missed the potential game-winner, blasting the shot above the crossbar. Syracuse’s win in penalties cemented its place in the ACC semifinals. Despite Afonso’s history against the program, Diaz-Bonilla felt the Orange were always in control of the result.

“I think there was a feeling in the team that we had been dominating (Virginia) for pretty much the whole game,” Diaz-Bonilla said of SU’s comeback. “There was never any fear.”

Published on November 5, 2023 at 8:19 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews