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With its captain Jeorgio Kocesvki suspended for the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Syracuse got what it wanted, defeating Boston University 3-1. Mateo Leveque stepped up in Kocevski’s place, providing two assists in the win. The victory afforded Kocevski at least one more game with the Orange.

On paper, Kocevski’s return seemed like it would give SU a boost in the midfield as it faced one of its toughest tests of the season. But Kocesvki and the rest of Syracuse’s midfield were thoroughly outplayed. By the time the Orange gained any sort of control, it was already out of reach.

Kocevski’s presence in the midfield failed to give SU a boost while he and the rest of his team fell flat. Syracuse (9-5-7, 2-1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) was outmatched in the middle of the park against No. 8 seed New Hampshire (13-2-4, 4-0-3 America East), falling 3-0 as its hopes to repeat as National Champions came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Yannick Bright, the America East Midfielder of the Year, ran circles around the SU midfield along with defender Isaac Heffess, who provided an attacking spark for New Hampshire.

“That wasn’t a very pretty soccer game,” said Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre. “They really did a good job of picking up their second balls and I thought physically, they won those battles.”

Before the BU game, Lorenzo Boselli said if you win the midfield battle, you win the game. Typically this season, SU has done that. Syracuse’s midfielders have played off each other. Kocevski’s final balls led to an ACC-leading 12 assists along with a program-record for assists as a senior. Leveque provided much-needed link-up play in transition while Gabriel Mikina and Josh Belluz cleaned up any danger. But against New Hampshire, nothing seemed to go right.

From the opening kick, Syracuse was second to every ball. In the sixth minute, Georgios Koliniatis picked up the ball along the left side and drove infield. No Syracuse player closed him down as he sprayed the ball out wide to Taig Healy. Belluz was too slow to close Healy down, who cut the ball to his right foot, firing past Jahiem Wickham in net and giving UNH an early 1-0 lead.

McIntyre opted to put Belluz in the midfield against UNH while playing Mikina as the right center back of a back three. McIntyre did the same thing against BU, switching things up after Mikina spent the last few weeks as a defensive midfielder.

Mikina made a mistake in midfield which led to North Carolina’s first goal a couple of weeks ago. Sunday, it wasn’t that Syracuse’s midfield was sloppy with mistakes causing goals. But, SU struggled to hold onto the ball and string passes together which led to disconnected attacks and holes in transition.

“They played more than we did, today. It was a tough surface and a tough environment to play,” McIntyre said.

New Hampshire dominated possession for large portions of the first half and the Wildcats’ center backs were given space to step up and make plays in the attack. In the 25th minute, Heffess controlled the ball in his own half. He quickly accelerated forward past Nicholas Kaloukian and no SU player was there make a challenge. With the midfield absent, Heffess continued on. Ultimately, a through ball attempt was thwarted by Olu Oyegunle, but the lack of pressure was a common theme in the first half.

Later on, Bright repeated Heffess’ actions. The midfielder beat the first line of Syracuse’s pressure, creating a dangerous opportunity in the attacking third. Bright fired a through ball for Healy, but Oygunle intercepted again. New Hampshire’s ability to waltz into Syracuse’s final third was a worrying sign.

New Hampshire punished Syracuse’s lack of aggression in the midfield late on in the first half. Dylan Maxon fired home a loose ball from a corner kick to put the Wildcats up 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go before halftime.

McIntyre said his team made some adjustments after the break and performed better in the second half, controlling more of the ball. But McIntyre also said UNH didn’t throw as many numbers forward in the second half as they were content with a two-goal cushion.

SU’s increased possession in the second half didn’t result in any major chances. Leveque and Kocevski tried linking up on multiple occasions in the final third, but nothing seemed to click and soon, New Hampshire’s two-goal lead turned into three.

In the 61st minute, Kocevski lazily sliced an attempted clearance which went backward, forcing Wickham out of his net and clearing the ball out for a throw. A long throw by Heffes was only half cleared back to him, firing a cross back in. At the back post, Eli Goldman chested the ball down and fired a half-volley to the near post, putting New Hampshire up 3-0.

It was the dagger for Syracuse. And once again, it all started with a miscue in the midfield. Kocevski’s mishit clearance led to a third for New Hampshire which all but ended the game. Kocevski, the only remaining midfield starter from the National Championship team in 2022, had been the glue that held the midfield together all season. Over four seasons, he started in 65-of-71 games and was the engine behind SU’s success in 2022 and 2023. Whether it’s breaking up play, springing a transition forward, or his dangerous set pieces, everything has started with Kocevski.

But in what’s likely his final collegiate game, the engine ran out of steam and so did the Orange’s hopes of repeating as National Champions.

Published on November 19, 2023 at 6:33 pm

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