Syracuse men’s soccer received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will host Rhode Island on Thursday at SU Soccer Stadium. The match will begin at 7 p.m.

For the sixth time in eight seasons, the Orange (7-6-5, 2-4-2 Atlantic Coast) made it to the 48-team field. Last season, Syracuse received a first-round bye before losing in the second round to Akron. This year, the Orange will play on the opening night.

If they win against URI, the Orange will play at St. John’s, and could face Virginia again in their section of the bracket.

Syracuse won five of its 10 home games this season, finishing with four draws and one loss on home grass. While the Orange picked up a marquee home win against North Carolina State, they also settled for ties against Yale, New Hampshire and Pittsburgh, two of which are in the NCAA tournament field.

The Orange finished 10th in the ACC out of 12 teams, before advancing to the second round of the ACC tournament in a penalty shootout victory over North Carolina. While Syracuse then lost to ACC tournament champion Virginia in the next round, the Orange had done more than enough throughout the season for head coach Ian McIntyre to feel comfortable that the Orange would make the tournament, and maybe even host a game.

McIntyre got both, and the Orange will now host Rhode Island (14-3-3, 7-1-0 Atlantic 10), who won the Atlantic 10 and earned an automatic bid. The Orange and Rams have two common opponents, as both lost 2-1 to Boston College and URI lost to Connecticut, while SU beat the Huskies.

Syracuse’s last NCAA tournament win came back in 2016, when the Orange beat Dartmouth in the opening round.