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The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's soccer

INSTANT RECAP: Indiana men’s soccer falls to Syracuse in penalties of NCAA Championship

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CARY, NC — Indiana men’s soccer fell to Syracuse University in a penalty shootout in the NCAA Championship on Monday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The victory marked the Orange’s first ever national title.  

FIRST HALF 

5’: Senior forward Maouloune Goumballe set up senior forward Herbert Endeley with a promising chance near the penalty mark, but Endeley pushed the shot just wide of the frame.  

19’: Junior goalkeeper JT Harms made his first crucial save of the match. Syracuse had an opportunity just yards away from goal, but Harms reacted quickly to make a kick-stop.  

24’: SYRACUSE GOAL. Orange sophomore forward Nathan Opoku fired a powerful left-footed strike into the top left-corner to put Syracuse in front.  

31’: INDIANA GOAL. Senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink lofted a corner into the box, and after taking a few deflections, sophomore midfielder Patrick McDonald struck a volley into the bottom right-corner to draw the match level.  

33’: SYRACUSE GOAL. Less than two minutes after Indiana equalized, Syracuse stormed back to regain the lead. Sophomore midfielder Curt Calov was on the receiving end of Opoku’s cross and poked a shot past Harms.  

SECOND HALF  

62’: Opoku fired a long-range shot just over the crossbar. Syracuse was continually pushing the Hoosiers onto their heels in the early segments of the second period.  

69’: After some quick combination play out of the back, sophomore forward Tommy Mihalic attempted to chip Syracuse redshirt senior goalkeeper Russell Shealy from around 35 yards out. Shealy was able to recover and parry the chance away for a corner kick.  

72’: Endeley had a chance from the top of the box, but his powerful strike was sent away by Shealy.  

80’: INDIANA GOAL. With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Endeley found the equalizer. His strike from the top of the box was too powerful for Shealy to fend off.  

OVERTIME 

98’: Syracuse earned a free kick at the top of the Hoosiers’ box. Calov struck the ball directly into Indiana’s wall.  

103’: Harms came well off his line to clear away the shot of Syracuse sophomore midfielder Giona LeiBold.  

106’: Freshman midfielder Jack Wagoner had a great opportunity from inside the box but sailed his shot just above the crossbar.  

PENALTIES 

Syracuse won in the penalty shootout by a score of 7-6. Senior forward Karsen Henderlong and Goumballe missed the Hoosiers’ two penalties. Despite Harms saving the shot of Orange midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski, he could not fend off the final spot kick from senior midfielder Amferny Sinclair.  

For the first time in program history, Syracuse won the College Cup Final.

Follow reporters Kamil Gut (@GutKamil) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) for Indiana men’s soccer updates.
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