Syracuse has been selected as the No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and will host the winner of Dartmouth and St. Francis Brooklyn in the second round on Sunday at 2 p.m. It’s the Orange’s third-straight NCAA tournament berth.

Dartmouth, the 2016 Ivy League champions, lost to Syracuse in last season’s NCAA tournament second round, 2-1, behind goals by Ben Polk and Louis Cross. In the 2015 tournament, SU earned a No. 6 seed and advanced to its first-ever College Cup, college soccer’s final four, before falling to Clemson in penalty kicks. Penalty kicks ended Syracuse’s tournament runs in both in 2012 and 2015.

The Orange (11-3-4, 3-2-3 Atlantic Coast) secured the No. 5 seed in this year’s ACC tournament and scored its first four-goal game of the year against Pittsburgh in the first round. Four days later, Syracuse drew Clemson, 1-1, before the Tigers advanced on penalty kicks, 4-2.

Head coach Ian McIntyre, in his seventh season, has led Syracuse to the tournament in four of the last five seasons after not making it his first two seasons. SU has won at least one tournament game in each of its last four trips.

This year, Syracuse burst out to its best start in program history, 8-0, and the No. 2 national ranking. A four-game winless streak, SU’s worst stretch in five seasons, followed. The Orange has returned to form down the stretch, having not lost in a six-game span since Oct. 7. Four of SU’s last six games have come against top-15 teams. Syracuse has ranked inside No. 2 and No. 10 by the NSCAA national poll all season.

Sophomore defender Kamal Miller will return to the team this week after a getting called up last Tuesday to the Canadian Under-20 Men’s National Team. The 6-foot, 185-pounder has started in each of Syracuse’s 43 games over the past two seasons.

Last week, sophomore Miles Robinson was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Senior forward Chris Nanco and freshman defender Mo Adams were named to the All-ACC first and third teams, respectively.

An NCAA-record nine ACC teams made the 2016 NCAA tournament. The College Cup is Dec. 9-11 in Houston.

Published on November 14, 2016 at 2:04 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21