SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse welcomed another top 10 opponent into the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday afternoon. The Orange had a chance to extend their 3-game win streak, while Notre Dame has been winners of 4 of their last 5.
The first three quarters of the game could not have been scripted better for the Orange. Syracuse constantly kept the game close and even took the lead a few times. That was before the Irish would pull away with a 22-point fourth quarter that would be all the difference.
It started in the first quarter when Syracuse couldn’t get the offense going, but did not need to because the defense was able to stand tall with three blocks delivered to the Irish. The first 10 minutes would end with both teams tied at 16.
The second quarter would be another back-and-forth affair, with the Irish pulling ahead. Notre Dame would take a 5-point lead into halftime, 31-26.
Only one player was in the double-digits in points after the first 20 minutes, and that was Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles with 10.
#5 Miles takes a Mid-range jumper en route to her 23 points against Syracuse at JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 15th
As the second half got underway, the game plan did not change for the Orange. The defense stayed pesky and made it difficult to pull away. The Irish and Orange once again tied quarter points each with 19, keeping the lead at just five for Notre Dame.
The fourth quarter is where everything changed for the Orange. The Irish have been one of the best teams in the country in the fourth quarter all season long, and on Sunday, it was no different. Before the Orange could blink, the Irish quickly went on a 7-0 run to start the final frame of action. Notre Dame would end up outscoring the Syracuse by 11 points in the fourth quarter alone.
After looking like the Orange had the potential to pull of the upset through the first 30 minutes, in the final 10 minutes, the Irish proved why they are the number seven team in the country, and walked out of the JMA Wireless Dome with a 16 point victory.
The Irish were led in the scoring column by the pair of Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey. Miles led all scorers with 23 points and was 11-15 from the field. Mabrey followed with 15 points and hit three from beyond the arch. Lauren Ebo was all over the boards for the Irish, securing eight rebounds.
#1 Mabrey shoots one of her 3 pointers against Syracuse at JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 15
On the other side, the Orange were led by Dyaisha Fiar and Asia Strong. Fair had a team high 14 points and Strong followed with 11. Kyra Wood worked hard in the point and was rewarded with nine rebounds.
#15 Strong gets ready to shoot a free throw against Notre Dame at the JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 15th
Cary, N.C. — Lets set the scene. It is 6:00 p.m. and a cool 45 degrees in North Carolina. There is pryo going off behind you as “The Star-Spangled Banner” echoes throughout WakeMed Soccer Park. You’re standing on the pitch getting ready to play in your first ever National Championship. That is exactly what the Syracuse Orange went through on Monday night.
Fireworks launch into the sky as National Anthem ends before National Championship game in Cary. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
The Orange were back in the College Cup for the first time since 2015, when they lost to Clemson in the semi-finals. That game would end in a scoreless tie and be decided on penalty kicks. This script would get a few altercations in Cary, including the team the Orange would take on.
The Indiana Hoosiers were making their recording-breaking 17th appearance in the National Championship, one of the most impressive runs that the soccer world has seen. Entering the game, the Hoosiers had not given up a goal in any tournament game. 360 minutes, zero goals. That would be because of JT Harms in net, making nine saves through the first four games for the Hoosiers.
JT Harms makes a diving save in the National Championship Game. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
The Orange would break the shutout streak for the Hoosiers, scoring when Nathan Opoku would make some pretty moves inside the box and take a shot with his left foot, finding the back of the net. Make it 1-0 Orange in the 24th minute.
About eight minutes later, the Hoosiers would tie the game up. Patrick McDonald found the set piece in the air and sent it past Russell Shealy. But the game would not stay tied for long. Just 86 seconds later, Curt Calov would take the cross and settle the ball before snapping it past the goalkeeper.
Syracuse players celebrate Curt Calov’s goal that gave them a 2-1 lead. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
Syracuse would hold the lead all way until the 80th minute. Indiana’s Herbert Endeley would rifle a shot past the outstretched arms of Shealy into the top left corner of the net. A winner was not in sight as the game would remain tied all the way to the 90th minute. Overtime.
Indiana bench and fans celebrate the game tying goal late in 2nd half of National Championship. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
With both teams visibly exhausted throughout the entire overtime periods, it still would not be enough to determine a National Champion. Just like that Friday night in 2015 the overtime periods would end and the Orange would head to PKs.
The two teams would match each other through the first seven attempts, each having a miss in the 2nd round. Maouloune Goumballe would step up in the 8th round for the Hoosiers. He would try and go just to the left of Shealy, but Shealy would take a step to his left and a dive to make the stop and put Syracuse in position to win the title with a goal.
Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy makes the game winning save to put his team on the advantage. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
The Orange faithful did not know who was going to step up for the chance to win a National Championship. As the fans and team settled from the energy of the save, team captain Amferny Sinclair would emerge from the midfield and make his way to the PK spot.
Amferny Sinclair approaches his PK attempt in the National Championship game. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
With the title on the line, he would approach from six yards away. Sinclair would take the shot to the right side of the net. AJ Harms would guess correctly, but what he did not guess was that Sinclair would go high instead of low.
WE ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 🏆🏆
For the first time in program history, the Orange are NCAA National Champions, beating Indiana 7-6 in the penalty shootout!
The PK attempt would soar past Harms and hit the back of the net securing the first National Championship in program history for the Syracuse Orange. It would be the 80th National Championship in school history.
Syracuse players and coaches huge during the celebration after winning the 2022 National Championship. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
Shealy was named the 2022 Men’s College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player, while Opoku earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player. They were joined on the All-Tournament Team by Levonte Johnson, Curt Calov, Christian Curti and Jeorgio Kocevski.
Russell Shealy celebrates with teammates and trophy after winning College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player. Gabe Carr-Johnson (c) 2022
The celebration would be plentiful for the Orange, who were projected to finish fourth out of six in the ACC Atlantic division. Coach McIntyre talked about the success of his team after the game with the ESPNU team.
Back in Syracuse, the Dome was hosting a watch party with the men’s basketball team playing. As the stars would align, PKs would happen during halftime of the hoops game. Sinclair would put the game away with the entire attention of JMA Wireless Dome watching.
Syracuse Graduate Student Karl Winter captured the moment on twitter:
Syracuse finished the season 19-2-4. On their path to the National Championship, they would upset #1 Clemson on the road and only lose one ranked matchup all season. In the NCAA tournament, they wouldn’t leave Syracuse until the semi-finals, taking down Penn in OT, getting revenge on Cornell, and then beating Vermont to head to Cary. In the semis, Syracuse would go back and forth with Creighton before winning 3-2.
Here are the full Cinematic highlights of the contest from NCAA Soccer on Twitter:
The Adrian College Men’s NCAA hockey team is once again back in the NCAA Tournament; they will be facing an unfamiliar opponent in Hobart.
It was not supposed to be that way; however, these two teams were originally scheduled to play each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament two years ago before the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 tournament also was not played due to the ongoing pandemic, but finally, in 2022 these two teams will finally get to meet each other, this time with a trip to Lake Placid on the line.
Hobart had to battle its way into the quarterfinal match-up, playing in the first round against one of their NEHC conference foes, Elmira. The Statesmen took care of business with a 4-2 victory. Four different goal scorers found the back of the net for Hobart, with the game-winner coming off the twig of Luke Aquaro just 22 seconds into the 2nd period.
The Bulldogs find themselves back in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history after the beat-down of St. Norbert in the Harris Cup Championship. With the 12-3 victory Adrian secured the number one overall seed for just the third time ever. The number one seed earned the Bulldogs a bye week straight the quarterfinals. Adrian is riding high on a 28-game win streak. That is the longest win-streak and also the most wins in the 15 year of existence of Bulldog Hockey.
It will be two offensive juggernauts going at it on the frozen water of Arrington Ice Arena as the Statesmen average almost five goals a game at 4.9 and just about 40 shots a game as well. The Bulldogs’ offense averages a staggering six goals per, game doing so in an average of 39 shots per game.
Although both teams’ offense can fire on all cylinders, the defense may be the key to moving on to Lake Placid for the Frozen Four. The goaltending for both teams has been strong and nearly identical.
Adrian is led by, 5th-year senior Cam Grey, who has been a brick wall all season long. In 21 games this year, Grey has started 20 of them and has put up numbers that reflect his stellar record. Between the pipes, Grey has only allowed 44 goals, equating to a 2.21 GAA, his save percentage sits at 91.3% and he has stopped 463 pucks.
For Hobart, they are led by Senior Liam Lascelle. Lascelle has played in 18 games and started 16 of them. He matches Grey exactly with a 2.21 GAA and 91.3% save percentage. Where do the numbers differ? Lascelle has on given up 36 goals on just 379 saves.
Who is going to be tasked with trying to score on these goaltenders?
For Hobart, that responsibility falls into the lap of Luke Aquaro. The true-freshmen and NEHC Rookie-of-the-year has been putting on a clinic this year on the ice. He leads his team in points with 32 and in goals with 16. His teammate Aaron Maguyon sits right behind him with 14 goals.
The Bulldogs sit 4 lines deep on the offensive side of the ice. But two of the highlight players to watch come from the same line and the other is one of the newest additions to this year’s team.
Alessio Luciani is the leading point-getter for Adrian with 44 points on the year 29, of which are apples across the ice. His linemate, Rex Moe, has lit the lamp an impressive 16 times this season and looks to open up his hot playoff streak in the quarterfinal match-up.
The newest addition for the Bulldogs, Ty Enns is just a junior and a transfer from NCHA rival Marian University. He leads the Bulldogs with 20 goals on the campaign. He will have his electric shot looking for twine against Hobart.
The Bulldogs and Statesmen will do battle on Saturday, March 19th at 7 PM. The NCAA is hosting the game at Arrington Ice Arena. Standing room can be bought at the door. The game will also be available on various outlets. Adrian College TV will have the video stream, WVAV 107.9 FM will carry the audio stream, and WLEN 103.9 will also have a radio stream available.
Matt Kibby Media 