Syracuse men’s soccer falls 12 spots to No. 22 after loss to Temple, draw with Clemson

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Syracuse men’s soccer (6-3-4, 2-1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell to No. 22 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Orange had moved up to No. 10 in Week 7 after defeating then-No. 13 North Carolina on the road but went winless this week.

On Oct. 10, the Orange fell 2-1 to unranked Temple for its first nonconference loss at home this season. On Sunday, Syracuse tied 1-1 against Clemson in a rematch of last year’s ACC Championship game.

“It wasn’t about a lack of focus, it wasn’t about a lack of intensity, it was just a little bit of a lack of quality for us tonight,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said after the Temple loss. 

Against then-No. 21 Clemson, Syracuse fell behind six minutes into the second half and was on the verge of losing back-to-back games for the first time since 2021. But, in the 77th minute, center back Buster Sjoberg converted a free kick from outside the box to obtain a crucial conference point for the Orange.

“You need your players to step up in big moments and ours did tonight,” McIntyre said after the Clemson game.