Alex Bono didn’t hide it.

Standing before a group of reporters after last Sunday’s 2-1 win over Penn State, he smiled eagerly when addressing Syracuse’s third-round opponent.

“I hate Georgetown,” Bono said. “Just because growing up in Syracuse, watching college basketball and that sort of thing. Just Syracuse-Georgetown, the collegiate rivalry is huge.”

It’s not just basketball that spurns animosity between the two schools on the pitch, though. Two years ago, SU lost to the Hoyas in penalty kicks in the round of 16 of the 2012 NCAA tournament to prevent the underdog Orange from knocking off a third straight ranked team.

SU will get another shot at its old Big East rival on the same stage at the same venue but this time around, ninth-seeded Syracuse (16-3-1) comes in with more national recognition, seven new starters and an appetite for revenge to face eighth-seeded Georgetown (13-4-4) at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“I’ve been here now five years, so I’m starting to understand there’s a bit of a rivalry between the two schools,” head coach Ian McIntyre joked after last Sunday’s win.

On that sunny, 40-degree Nov. 25 day in 2012, an unranked Syracuse team took the lead just less than 30 minutes in on the then-No. 6 Hoyas. Current UCLA midfielder Jordan Vale – he transferred after the season – opened the scoring off a free kick from current SU defender Jordan Murrell to give the visitors an early upper hand.

As it’s done on numerous occasions this season, SU clung to a 1-0 lead, but eventually relented with five minutes remaining in the game when GU’s Brandon Allen put one home on a rebound off a Bono save.

Syracuse would go on to lose 4-2 in penalty kicks, and the loss that ended his freshman season is still fresh in Bono’s mind, but he emphasized that the personnel differences will make for a brand new game this time around.

“I haven’t played Georgetown in a game that matters since my freshman year,” Bono said. “I’m glad to get to play them again. It’s a different team, we’re a different team, so that’s not really going to be a factor.”

Only 36 percent of SU’s starting lineup from the 2012 game will likely be in the starting 11 on Sunday as Syracuse has leaned heavily on freshmen and sophomores throughout its historic 2014 run.

The current crop of underclassmen, and even juniors, never experienced life on a 3-12-1 Syracuse team in 2011. Instead, they’ve had three over-.500 seasons and the current team that’s consistently been mentioned among the nation’s elite is coming in having received more national attention than it did heading into the matchup two years ago.

“To come back and play them again in the national tournament, same stage as last time,” McIntyre said. “…we’ve got a number of new players, obviously only our juniors and seniors played in that game, but they’re an outstanding team.”

Midfielder Juuso Pasanen missed his penalty kick and Murrell had his saved against the Hoyas two years ago. Both will likely be in the starting lineup on Sunday and went wide-eyed after last Sunday’s game when they found out that they would get another shot at the Hoyas.

That was the sentiment echoing throughout the entire Orange squad as the SU players celebrated a comeback win over Penn State. Elation quickly turned to focus, and all sights were set on one word.

Said Murrell: “I’m looking forward to some revenge.”

Published on November 29, 2014 at 2:07 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman