2013 Season Review
Syracuse recorded a 10-7-1 overall record in its first year in the league, including a 3-7-1 ACC mark. The Orange remained in the hunt for a conference tournament berth until the final week of the regular season before being eliminated by Wake Forest. Despite missing the postseason, the 2013 Orange achieved several milestones and laid an important foundation upon which to build.
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Among the year's highlights was defeating No. 19 Clemson at home to clinch its second straight double-digit win season, a first for the program since 1995 and 1996. In addition, Syracuse was a perfect 7-0-0 in non-conference play and outscored its non-league foes by a combined 18-2 margin.
The Orange freshman class was especially productive. Emil Ekblom led a corps of rookie scorers that accounted for 20 of the team's 30 goals. The Orange's three leading goal-scorers were first-year players as Ekblom (10), Alex Halis (6) and Chris Nanco (4) finished atop the season goals chart.
Ekblom and Halis received All-ACC honors, as did sophomore goalie Alex Bono who anchored the Orange defense. Ekblom made the All-ACC Second Team, while Bono was named to the All-ACC Third Team. Ekblom and Halis both earned spots on the All-ACC Freshman Team.
The Orange began its perfect non-conference slate by defeating Colgate on the road in its season opener. The SU freshman class adjusted quickly to the college game, combining for three goals in a 4-0 shutout of the Raiders on Aug. 30. Halis scored the game's first goal, while Ekblom scored the final two tallies.
Three days later, Syracuse handled Hartwick in its home opener to improve to 2-0. Grant Chong and Nick Perea provided the offense, scoring early in the second half. The Orange defense was stellar, holding the Hawks to just two shots.
Head coach Ian McIntyre's club looked to carry the momentum into its first conference match Sept. 6 at Virginia Tech. The game represented the first ACC contest for the Orange in any sport. The visitors held a one-goal lead thanks to a Perea penalty kick in the first half, but the Hokies equalized match late and scored the golden goal in overtime to hand the Orange its first loss of 2013.
Syracuse returned to its winning ways in impressive fashion by beating Manhattan on Sept. 9, 4-1. Halis and Nanco combined for all four Orange goals against the Jaspers, registering two apiece. Halis also added an assist to finish with a career-high five points.
The men's soccer team recorded another first on Sept. 13 when it welcomed No. 4 Notre Dame to the SU Soccer Stadium for the first home ACC event in Orange history. However, the eventual national champions spoiled the occasion by beating SU, 3-0.
SU rebounded nicely from the loss to pick up one of the season's signature wins. The Orange topped former BIG EAST nemesis Connecticut to improve to 4-2-0. Halis scored the game's only goal and Bono recorded five saves against the 12th-ranked Huskies to end a six-game series losing streak.
A 2-1 come-from-behind triumph at Duke followed on Sept. 20. SU conceded a goal early in the second half, but came roaring back with goals from Ekblom and Nanco to secure the team's first ACC victory. Bono came up with several key saves down the stretch to stymie the Blue Devil attack and the nation took notice. Bono was named the Disney Soccer/NSCAA Division I Men's Player of the Week for his role in the victory along with his performance against UConn.
Syracuse extended its winning streak to three games with a dominting 3-0 win against Massachusetts on Sept. 25. Perea and Stefanos Stamoulacatos both tallied first half goals to power the Orange to the shutout victory.
In one of the year's most anticipated home matches, perennial national-title contender Virginia visited the SU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 28. A record crowd of 1,803 was on hand, but the home side couldn't generate much offense and the Cavaliers were victorious, 2-0.
The Orange brought a 6-3-0 record into its Oct. 1 match with Binghamton. SU dominated play, recording a 17-6 advantage in shots. Goals, however, were not easy to come by. Stamoulacatos scored in the first half, but the Bearcats came back to tie the match in the 79th minute to force overtime. In the second extra session, Halis broke through for the game-winner in the 105th minute to lift the Orange to a 2-1 triumph.
While cracking the Binghamton defense was difficult, Syracuse had no such issues the next time out. The Orange rolled to a 5-0 home win against NC State on Oct. 8. Ekblom turned in a magnificent performance. He factored in four of the Orange's five goals, setting an SU Soccer Stadium record with seven points. Ekblom scored three times to post the 25th hat trick in school history. He also assisted on a goal by Nanco.
Once again the college soccer world took notice of the Orange. Ekblom was named the national player of the week and the ECAC co-Offensive Player of the Week. He also earned spots on the TopDrawerSoccer.com and College Soccer News National Teams of the Week.
Ekblom continued his scoring tear on the road at Boston Colege in SU's next match. He tallied two more goals, but the Bekkestua, Norway native's offensive herioics were not enough. The Eagles answered both Ekblom tallies and emerged with a 3-2 victory.
A 0-0 draw against Pitt on Oct. 12 and 1-0 loss at North Carolina on Oct. 18 followed before Syracuse got untracked with a 2-0 road win at Albany. The Albany victory capped an unbeaten (7-0-0) non-conference season for the Orange. Ekblom and Juuso Pasanen contributed goals, while Bono collected three saves for his seventh shutout of the year.
In its next match, the Orange went toe-to-toe with No. 12 Maryland at the SU Soccer Stadium on Oct. 26. Syracuse had one fewer shot than the Terrapins, but UMD tallied the match's only goal in the 56th minute to escape with the win. The Orange held Maryland's Patrick Mullins, the eventual Hermann Trophy winner as national player of the year, to one shot in the contest.
Despite the setback, Syracuse remained steadfast in its quest for an ACC Tournament berth. The Orange picked up another marquee win by toppling No. 19 Clemson, 1-0, on Nov. 1 in dramatic fashion. Halis scored in the 61st minute and the Orange defense was exceptional in limiting a flurry of late Tiger scoring opportunities. It was the team's 10th win of the season and represented SU's first win against a ranked conference foe since defeating No. 21 Louisville in 2008.
After his game-winner against the Tigers, Halis became the only rookie to win ACC Player of the Week honors in 2013.
The Orange needed a win at No. 13 Wake Forest and some help from other conference contenders during the season's final weekend. Ekblom netted his team-leading 10th goal, but the Demon Deacons scored twice in each half to record a 4-1 victory and eliminate Syracuse from postseason contention.
Bono finished the year with a 10-7-1 record, including eight shutouts. He played every minute in goal for the Orange and raised his career total to 18 clean sheets, tied for the third-most in school history. He also moved into sixth all-time at SU with 23 career wins.
Ekblom, the first double-digit Orange goal-scored since Hansen Woodruff in 2007, finished with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists. His 10 goals were the third-most scored by a freshman in program history, while his 23 points tied for fourth on the SU rookie scoring ledger.
2013 Men's Soccer Awards
MVP – Emil Ekblom
Rookie of the Year – Alex Halis
Most Improved Player – Brandon Albert
Golden Boot Award – Emil Ekblom
Coaches' Award – Jordan Murrell
Dean Foti Award – Matt Stith
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