Syracuse Men's Soccer 2023 Season Preview

The Orange starts its National Championship defense on Thursday.

The Syracuse Men’s Soccer team opens their 2023 campaign on Thursday night at 7 p.m. vs Providence at SU Soccer Stadium. Head Coach Ian McIntyre and goalkeeper Jason Smith gave their thoughts leading up to kickoff.

“It’s been a fun two weeks that we’ve had so far," McIntyre said. "Looking forward to getting going the first day.” 

Smith said the team is confident as they near game one 

“I think the team has put a lot of hard work in in the past couple of weeks and there’s great brotherhood that’s forming with all the returning guys and the new guys," Smith said. "So very confident and very excited just to get the season going.”

McIntyre added he wants to see his team slowly making progress as the season gets underway, while playing their brand of soccer.

Players to watch include midfielder Lorenzo Boselli and forward Nicholas Kaloukian, who have impressed so far in exhibition play with both tallying multi-goal games. Boselli started 15 games last season for the Orange while Kaloukian is an incoming transfer from Michigan. Coach McIntyre explained what makes Kaloukian so valuable. 

“His work rate is phenomenal," McIntyre said. "That energy becomes contagious.”

Boselli received equally high praise. 

“Lorenzo’s had a great start," McIntyre said. "Just building on. He gets better every time I see him.”

McIntyre also made it clear he sees Providence, the Orange's foe in Thursday's season opener, as a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s a team that’s thought of very highly in the Big East," McIntyre said. "A lot of talent, well coached, this will be a fun college matchup and could go either way.”

In order to repeat as National Champions, Syracuse will have to replace several key contributors to last year's squad. That includes goalkeeper Russell Shealy, midfielder Curt Calov, forward Nathan Opoku, midfielder Colin Biros and forward Levonte Johnson. 

The Orange has multiple ranked opponents on the schedule as well, including #4 Duke, #5 Pittsburgh, #9 Clemson, #18 Wake Forest and #20 Cornell. 

SUPPORT ALL SYRACUSE

SUBSCRIBE TO ALLSYRACUSE.COM NOW TO GET ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INSIDER CONTENT

FREE ALL SYRACUSE NEWSLETTER TO GET THE LATEST ORANGE UPDATES SENT TO YOUR INBOX

JOIN THE ALL SYRACUSE FORUMS FOR FREE AND DISCUSS THE ORANGE WITH OTHER FANS AND OUR STAFF