Indiana’s quest for a 9th national title will continue for at least one more year.
The Hoosiers (14-4-7, 3-1-4 B1G) fell to the Syracuse Orange (20-2-4, 5-1-2 ACC) in penalty kicks at WakeMed Park in Cary, NC. Amferny Sinclair scored the winning penalty for Syracuse after 110 breathtaking minutes of soccer, including seven rounds of penalty kicks.
The victory was Syracuse’s first-ever national title. It was the first title for an ACC team since 2011.
In case you thought nerves would play a factor tonight, that idea was eliminated from the get-go. The Hoosiers and Orange played an up-and-down affair in front of over 4,000 witnesses in Cary.
The teams combined for 17 shots in the first half and played soccer at a fervent pace. For comparison, Indiana and Pitt combined for 14 shots for the entire match in Friday’s semifinal.
The Orange struck first in the 24th minute. Nathan Opoku, a sophomore forward who is drawing interest from club teams in Europe, collected the ball at the edge of the box and used some creative footwork to create some space. After a quick breath, Opoku curled a beautiful left-footed strike into the top corner, beating JT Harms in the process.
