By Julia MorrisPhoto by Jiayang Zhang
Syracuse, N.Y. - Sophomore midfielder Alex Halis has not been a regular starter for the Syracuse Orange this season – but he made his start in the ACC quarterfinals against the Duke Blue Devils on Sunday afternoon count. Halis scored the first goal of the match in the 10th minute of the game and the Orange (15-2-1)would add to that lead later on, winning by a final score of 2-0.
Halis’ goal was his second of the season. Freshman midfielder Julian Buescher sent a
pass to the center of the box where Halis then used his fancy footwork to
maneuver past defenders and find the net.
“All week in practice I was working on running to the front
post,” Halis said. “My first thought
right there was run to the front post - I kind of got a lucky bounce it came to
me and my first instinct was just go to the net and it went in.”
The score put the Orange ahead 1-0, causing the record crowd
of 2, 533 at the SU Soccer stadium to erupt.
One fan, Chris Cawley, was sporting blue and orange paint
across his face in support of the team he has been following closely for several years.
“This is fantastic, I’ve never seen anything like this,”
Cawley said. “It’s unprecedented.”
Nick Perea added another goal for the Orange in the 33rd
minute of the game.
Midfielder Oyvind Alseth had the ball on the right side of
the lower third and sent a deep cross to the left side of the field. Midfielder Liam Callahan then volleyed the
pass toward the goal and Perea headed it in for the finish. The captain’s goal made it 2-0.
Duke (9-9-1) had limited chances to cut into the Syracuse lead. The Orange defense limited the Blue Devils to just four shots in the second half.
“Those are the guys that won us the game today no doubt
about it,” Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono said. “All game long blocking shots,
putting their bodies on the line for us to preserve a shutout, that’s what this
team is all about.”
One of the Blue Devils' opportunities came on a free kick from midfield
with 33 minutes left in the game. Duke's Nat Eggleston tried to get his head on the kick but Bono jumped right
above the 6-foot-3 defender and grabbed the ball. Bono had seven total saves for the day and
recorded his twelfth shutout of the season.
Syracuse will face Louisville in the ACC semifinals on
Friday. The Cardinals handed the Orange one of its two losses on the season
back in October, winning 2-1 in an overtime game.
“Louisville is a dangerous, dynamic team and that front four
is a real handful,” Orange head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We’re looking forward
to a good week of practice and heading down.”
The Orange will head down to Cary, N.C. for the
match-up. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
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