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The Syracuse Orange men’s soccer team are always up for a challenge. They’re going to need to muster every ounce of strength to get through what is one of the toughest schedules in the country. On the 2017 slate, the Orange are facing nine teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, six of which ended the season in the Top 25.
While the schedule is difficult, it could be much worse. The Orange get three of their toughest potential opponents at home. Matches at SU Soccer Stadium have been friendly to the Orange these past few years, going 30-4-4 since the 2014 season.
Home matches against Louisville and Wake Forest should be great clashes. Late in the season, they should have some postseason implications as well.
The biggest date on the schedule to circle is home against the Clemson Tigers on October 21. The Orange and the Tigers have had some amazing knock down, drag out matches over the past years. The past three meetings have ended in draws, heading to penalties in the two tournament matches, the 2016 ACC Tournament and the 2015 NCAA College Cup. Every match the two teams have played since the move to the ACC has been an example of two evenly paced teams playing at a high level.
2017 Syracuse Men’s Soccer Schedule
| TEAM | Home/Away | Date |
|---|---|---|
| TEAM | Home/Away | Date |
| HARTWICK | H | August 13 |
| VILLANOVA* | H | August 16 |
| MARYLAND* | A | August 19 |
| ST. LOUIS | A | August 25 |
| SIU EDWARDSVILLE* | A | August 27 |
| PRINCETON | H | September 1 |
| NORTHWESTERN | H | September 3 |
| VIRGINIA* | A | September 8 |
| OREGON STATE | H | September 12 |
| LOUISVILLE* | H | September 15 |
| CORNELL | H | September 19 |
| DUKE | H | September 22 |
| COLGATE* | A | September 25 |
| PITTSBURGH | A | September 29 |
| AKRON* | H | October 3 |
| NORTH CAROLINA STATE | H | October 6 |
| BOSTON COLLEGE* | A | October 13 |
| OHIO STATE | A | October 18 |
| CLEMSON* | H | October 21 |
| WAKE FOREST* | H | October 27 |
Overall it’s a difficult but manageable slate. The Orange will have a very strong test to make the postseason, but have been up for the challenge in the past few years. This year should be no different, as Coach McIntyre has a very strong class coming in, along with some returning talent and experience to get them through the fire.
The first time you can see the lads for the fall season is the exhibition opener. The match is set to kick off on August 13th at home against Hartwick. Two other exhibitions, hosting Villanova and travelling to Maryland should get the Orange ready to open the season. Nova was a tournament team last year and Maryland was the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. It seems Coach Mac is looking to test the boys going into this season.
The regular season starts on the road at St. Louis and SUI Edwardsville, but the home opener will be against the Princeton Tigers on September 3, at the SU Soccer Stadium. The team looks to build on a 12-4-4 record last year and continue their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances this year.