Three Standouts: Syracuse Men's Soccer Tops NC State in ACC Tournament

The Orange advances in the ACC Championship Tournament.

Orange Run Wild in ACC Tournament Opener, Smash NC State 5-0

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange came into Wednesday night looking to put a rocky regular season behind them and finally find their form in ACC tournament play. Sixth-seeded Syracuse were favored at home against eleventh-seeded NC State and were able to deliver an electric 5-0 win to home fans that were trooping through the cold. With light snow coming down and temperatures hovering around 35 degrees at the time of kick-off, the Orange played like a team that was used to the snow, delivering their best performance of the season. It doesn’t say it on the scoresheet, but these slippery conditions should be credited for an assist on Syracuse’s first goal. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when midfielder Gabriel Mikina ripped a shot from outside of the box that took an odd bounce under the arms of the Wolfpack keeper. The Orange doubled their lead before halftime, when substitute Daniel Diaz Bonilla volleyed home a floated pass from Felipe D’Agostini. The Brazilian then added a goal of his own in the 70th minute off a beautiful team move, and two minutes later senior Jackson Glenn made the lead four. Bonilla bagged a brace to cap off the rout, with Syracuse’s five goals more than enough to dispatch an NC State team that struggled to get going offensively. The Orange will move on to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals at Virginia on Sunday.

Below are three standout players from the match:

Daniel Diaz Bonilla

While Syracuse dominated the game from the first whistle, the second goal just six minutes before the halftime whistle was the insurance the Orange needed. The strike was a pretty one, and it came from an unlikely source – substitute Daniel Diaz Bonilla. Having come in less than a minute before, Bonilla connected cleanly on D’Agostini’s pass to volley the ball into the bottom right corner. This was the grad student’s first goal of the season and first ever for the Orange, having played undergrad at Princeton University. “I got fortunate enough to get on the field and put away the chance when it came,” Bonilla said postgame. “I kind of felt like a goal was coming.”

Bonilla continued to play a critical role after his goal, netting himself a brace and collecting assists on both of Syracuse’s scores in the second half. These were his first assists of the season as well – the forward collecting four goal contributions against NC State wouldn’t have been on anyone’s bingo card going into the night. Despite this, Coach Ian McIntrye wasn’t surprised about Bonilla’s performance. “He’s the hardest working guy on our team,” McIntyre said postgame. “Could not be happier for Daniel.”

Gabriel Mikina

When Coach McIntyre was asked in the postgame presser about senior Gabriel Mikina’s goal today, he immediately chuckled. Mikina sitting next to him (who the team affectionately calls Gabi) sighed and put his head down. McIntyre knew he had a good anecdote to bust out - “Gabi said to me, ‘let me go forward coach, trust me, give me the ball and I’ll shoot from 30 yards out,’” McIntyre laughed. “He said that to me a couple weeks ago and we haven’t found the ball that went over the back of the goal.”

McIntyre can crack jokes all he wants – Mikina is now up to second on the team in goalscoring for the campaign, an unlikely spot for a defender to reside. Mikina scored the first for Syracuse against NC State from outside of the box, good for his fifth goal of the season. His goalscoring has been an unexpected boon for the Orange this year, and he’s even better on the defensive end.

While there will (rightfully) be much ado about the five goals that Syracuse scored today, their best scoring output of the season, the defense was as solid as ever. Mikina, who operates as a defender when opponents have the ball and pushes forward into a midfield role when Syracuse is in possession, had high praise for his teammates after keeping the clean sheet and only allowing two shots on goal. “All year I think we’ve been really resilient in the back, it’s a testament to Buster, Josh…” Mikina said. “They might not have scored a goal, but their prowess and their voice back there is what guides us.”

Felipe D’Agostini

Felipe D’Agostini is always a burst of energy when he comes off the Syracuse bench, usually the first man off the pine for Coach McIntyre. He has started in six matches but didn’t need to on Wednesday night to make an impact. D’Agostini had a goal and two assists, providing a beautiful ball to Bonilla for his first goal. McIntyre had praise for the goalscoring tandem after the game - “DDB [Daniel Diaz Bonilla] and Felipe look like they’ve been playing together all season,” McIntyre said. “They were terrific, and it seemed like they enjoyed playing with each other.”

D’Agostini claimed one of an impressive four goals from the bench today. This last strike puts the Brazilian at four on the season, the third-most on the team. He’s made a massive impact in his first season in Syracuse, and his electricity and change of pace will be crucial if the Orange want to come away from Virginia with a win against a very talented Cavaliers team seeded third in the ACC.

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