'Cuse, Cards Meet in ACC Semis

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 1-ranked Orange (15-2-1) will take on No. 19 Louisville (9-6-3) in the second semifinal of the 2014 ACC Men's Soccer Championship on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Syracuse is the No. 2 seed in the tournament, while the Cardinals are seeded sixth. Notre Dame and Clemson square off in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m.

Friday's game will air live on ESPN3. Glen Davis (pxp) and Cat Whitehill (analyst) have the call.

The Syracuse-Louisville contest is a rematch of an Oct. 17 game won by the Cardinals, 2-1, in overtime. It marked the only time in the regular season Syracuse conceded more than one goal.

Links: Bracket | Tournament Central | Tickets

ORANGE COP ACC AWARDS
Both goalie Alex Bono and head coach Ian McIntyre took home individual awards on Thursday, Nov. 13 when the Atlantic Coach Coast Conference announced its 2014 men's soccer awards and all-conference teams. Bono became the first Syracuse keeper to win a major conference award by earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. McIntyre was named the ACC Coach of the Year after guiding the Orange to 15-2-1 overall record and a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title.

Overall, four Syracuse players received all-conference plaudits Thursday. Sophomore Emil Ekblom joined Bono on the All-ACC First Team. Senior Skylar Thomas and freshman Julian Buescher earned All-ACC Second Team recognition. Buescher also landed a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

BONO CAN TIE SYRACUSE CAREER SHUTOUT RECORD
Junior goalie Alex Bono has 30 career clean sheets and needs one more to tie the Syracuse all-time record of 31 held by Joe Papaleo (1979-82). Papaleo's career shutout total is tied for 16th in NCAA history.

Bono is on an incredible pace, posting one shutout every 1.9 games (30 sho/56 gms). Papaleo recorded one clean sheet every 2.3 matches (31 sho/70 gms).

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT NOTABLES
The Orange is making its first ACC Championship appearance and its 14th conference tournament appearance overall. Syracuse played in 13 BIG EAST Championships from 1982-2012. Syracuse has an 8-11-1 overall record in league tournament games and holds a 4-3-0 all-time record when serving as a No. 2 seed.

The Orange is 4-5-0 in conference tournament semifinal matches. Syracuse's last semifinal win was against Connecticut (1-0) in the 1986 BIG EAST Championship.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Louisville is 9-6-3 overall and finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 4-3-1 conference mark. It's been an up and down season for the Cardinals. Louisville opened the year 7-2-1 before dropping the next four matches. Then the Cardinals rebounded and are 4-1-2 in their last seven contests.

ACC Rookie of the Year Tim Kubel leads the Louisville attack with a team-high six goals and 15 points. Ben Strong (13 points) and Ricardo Velazco (12 points) are also dangerous in the offensive third.

Louisville keeper Joachim Ball has a 9-5-2 record with six shutouts and a 0.84 goals-against average.

Ken Lolla is in his ninth year at the helm of the Cardinals. He owns a 108-53-26 record at Louisville and guided the team to its first NCAA College Cup appearance in 2010. Prior to taking over the Cardinals, Lolla was the head coach at Akron from 1993 to 2005.

THE LOUISVILLE SERIES
Louisville leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 6-2-1, and is 4-0-1 against the Orange since 2009. Both Orange wins in the series have been in overtime (2-1 in 2005 and 3-2 in 2008).

Friday's match marks the first time Syracuse and Louisville will meet in postseason play.

UP NEXT…
The winner of the Syracuse-Louisville semifinal will play either Clemson or Notre Dame for the ACC title on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. The championship match will be televised live on ESPNU.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Bono

Julian Buescher

Emil Ekblom

Skylar Thomas

Syracuse University Athletics