The hill behind the goal and on the face of Colvin Street was littered with trash. The grass was torn up and looked worn down, muddy and used.

“I don’t think the hill has ever looked that bad after a game,” goalkeeper Alex Bono said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had that many people on the hill. It was quite an atmosphere today. I think it was probably close to or way over our record crowd.”

Bono’s estimation was correct. The 2,533 people were a part of the largest crowd ever to attend a Syracuse soccer game, breaking the previous record set on Sept. 13, when the Orange drew 2,442 for it’s loss to then-No. 4 Notre Dame. The bleachers were completely full before the first kick, and lines to buy tickets stretched almost all the way down to Manley Field House.

Behind the hill, fans craned their necks over the fence to watch as the Orange (15-2-1, 5-2-1 Atlantic Coast), the nation’s top-ranked team, beat Duke (9-9-1, 4-4) 2-0 to advance to the ACC tournament semifinals.

“I think we were dragging people in as they were walking by,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We had some people looking over the fence, that’s a good problem to have. It was a terrific day for our program.”

Since the previous record earlier in the season, SU has regularly drawn close to, or over 2,000 fans to its games. But on Sunday, on a brisk 45-degree afternoon, the fans braved the weather and the long lines to see the Orange in unprecedented numbers.

Said McIntyre: “Winning makes everything better I guess.”