Syracuse Men's Soccer: Tony Asante Sidelined with ACL Tear

The Daily Orange is reporting that senior starting forward Tony Asante is going to be out for the 2013 season with a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that he sustained in a summer club match with Ocean City FC of the USL-PDL. Asante is one of the top returning players for Coach McIntyre's squad and there will be a battle to see who fills the shoes of the Ghanain forward.

Last season, Asante contributed 5 goals and 4 assists for the Orange in the 2012 campaign after transferring to the Hill from Monroe College. He was looking to make another leap forward this year, building on his prior 10 starts and moving into a feature role. With the announcement of the injury it not be until next season that Asante is able to take the pitch for his senior season.

Syracuse currently has four pure forwards listed on their roster, in super-sub Grant Chong, and local products Ben Ramin from Baldwinsville and Noah Rhynhart from Albany as well as freshmen Emil Ekblom from Norway. Coach McIntyre will be looking to them to pick up the pace and fill in for the injured Asante.

The roster also shows a few hybrid attackers on the roster, with newcomers Alex Halis, Korab Syla, Emmanuel Kollie, and Chris Nanco listed as forwards/midfielders. We'll see who pans out where in the coming weeks and what sort of formations and style of play the Orange will roll out this season in the near future.