The Syracuse Orange men's soccer team's season came to an end Sunday after an overtime loss to the Georgetown Hoyas. Tied 1-1, the game went into overtime and eventually came down to penalty kicks, which the Hoyas won 4-2.
Penalty kicks are never a fitting end to any soccer match and Syracuse's magical season deserved a better ending, but it ends nonetheless. Farther along than just about anyone expected it to.
Syracuse finishes the season 14-7-1 and made it further than they've ever made it before in only their second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Orange also notched their first and second-ever NCAA wins over Cornell and VCU in the previous rounds.
It was a great season for head coach Ian McIntyre, who has completely turned the program around since arriving. The team was 5-22-6 in his first two seasons at the helm before things turned around this year. No wonder he and his staff were named Big East Coaching Staff of the Year.
Jordan Vale, who scored Syracuse's lone regulation goal today, finished the season with nine goals, the most by an Orange freshman since 2000. Lars Muller finished with six goals while Louis Clark will be remembered for his four-point performance against VCU in the 2nd round of the NCAAs.
A great season and hopefully the dawn of big things for the program.