ACC names Syracuse’s Ian McIntyre coach of the year
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Syracuse men’s soccer head coach Ian McIntyre was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coach of the Year after guiding the No. 3 Orange (13-2-3, 5-1-2 ACC) to an Atlantic Division title. This marks the second time he’s earned the honor with the first coming in 2014 — the last time SU won the ACC’s Atlantic Division.
McIntyre took over the program in 2010 and was part of the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year in 2012. In 2015, he led Syracuse to its first-ever ACC Championship title and eventually to the NCAA Tournament’s College Cup, where it fell to Clemson in penalty kicks.
After two consecutive .500 seasons or below, Syracuse started its 2022 campaign on an eight-game unbeaten streak, picking up ranked wins against then-No. 21 Penn State, then-No. 22 Notre Dame and then-No. 1 Clemson. After a brief three-game stint, where SU lost to Cornell and Virginia, the Orange finished the season on a six-game unbeaten streak, securing the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. Syracuse received zero first-place votes in the preseason poll to win the Atlantic Division.
McIntyre brought in transfers Levonte Johnson and Nathan Opoku to spearhead an attack that lost Deandre Kerr to the MLS. Johnson and Opoku have each scored eight goals and combined for 42 points. The former scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute against North Carolina on Sunday to send SU to the ACC Tournament semifinals, where it will play Virginia on Wednesday.
With a win, the Orange will advance to the ACC title game at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. They’ll play the winner of Clemson and Wake Forest, both teams Syracuse has previously beaten in 2022.
Published on November 9, 2022 at 12:25 pm
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