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Gabriel Mikina watched Syracuse years before going to college. He knew about head coach Ian McIntyre’s strong reputation and admired the program’s playstyle. SU’s 2022 National Championship victory helped sway Mikina to transfer to Syracuse, but he was already sold.

“Looking at Kamal Miller, Tajon (Buchanan), Miles Robinson, those types of players, seeing them come through the ranks and seeing who they’ve become — you want that,” Mikina said.

Mikina, along with 13 other transfers, shaped the Orange into a brand-new group in 2023. Mikina’s impact was greatly felt as a versatile midfielder and defender who finished as SU’s third leading scorer with five goals.

Syracuse lost key pieces from 2022, but McIntyre utilized the transfer portal and brought in veteran players to solidify his team. McIntyre led the Orange to another successful campaign in 2023, staying in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll for the entire season while earning back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time since 2018-19.

SU’s transfers made a direct impact, accumulating 45 of Syracuse’s 78 goal contributions. Striker Nicholas Kaloukian, a Michigan transfer, finished the year as Syracuse’s tied leader in goals (six) and a team-best 15 points. UConn transfer Mateo Leveque played a huge part in the midfield, registering seven assists. Oral Roberts transfer Felipe D’Agostini provided a spark off the bench with four goals and two assists.

Despite a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament, McIntyre got a lot out of his new-look roster.

“I want to put myself in the best situation where I can expose myself, where coaches can demand more from me, where coaches can push me to a new level,” Mikina said of his decision to transfer. “And having, obviously, the resources we have (at Syracuse are) huge.”

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Here are some more takeaways from Syracuse’s 2023 campaign:

Attacking decline

Replacing Nathan Opoku and Levonte Johnson was always going to be a challenge. The two led SU in goals and assists, combining for 22 goals and 14 assists.

Syracuse started Kaloukian up top and moved Lorenzo Boselli higher up the field to try and fill the void from Opoku and Johnson. Kaloukian and Boselli were SU’s top scorers, but lacked consistency.

Kaloukian and Boselli tallied six goals each, though their production came in spurts. Boselli netted four goals through the opening five contests, yet scored just twice over the final 16 games. He even got benched from Oct. 18-22 against Yale and NC State in favor of D’Agostini.

Kaloukian scored three of his goals during a five-game stretch from Sept. 16 to Oct. 3. Then, he hit a lull, failing to score in each of his next eight appearances. Kaloukian finished the year on a high note, scoring SU’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals and netting two against Boston University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

SU’s attacking showed flashes, but it didn’t produce enough. Close defeats to Cornell and Temple were spurred by its inability to finish chances. The season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — a 3-0 loss to No. 8 seed New Hampshire, where the Orange registered just one shot on target. Syracuse finished with a .378 shot-on-goal percentage and at one point ranked as low as No. 201 out of 202 Division I programs in the category.

Glimpses of full potential

In 2023, the Orange looked like a team that could compete for back-to-back national titles. On Oct. 6, Syracuse defeated then-No. 13 UNC, which has since advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, for its first top 25 win of the season. SU’s stout defense led the way, as goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham won the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after a four-save shutout.

Syracuse followed up the victory with an upset 2-1 loss to Temple, which had one win on the season at that point, on Oct. 10. The Orange mustered two shots on goal against the Owls, giving up an 89th-minute goal.

SU entered the ACC Tournament with two straight ties to NC State and Boston College — the two worst teams in the conference. Then, Syracuse found its groove, blowing out NC State 5-0 and defeating then-No.9 Virginia 1(4)-1(3) in penalty kicks. Syracuse dominated the Cavaliers, outshooting them 24-9 with 14 on target.

Though its ACC Tournament run ended against UNC in the semifinals, the late-season surge showed what Syracuse could’ve been all season long. With 14 transfers challenged to gel together as quickly as possible to 2022’s national title winners, the Orange struggled to maintain consistency in 2023, despite exhibiting championship potential.

Midfield mastery

Syracuse got much of its offensive production off from set pieces and senior midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski was the catalyst. As the primary set piece taker, Kocevski was tied for first in the nation in assists (12) entering the NCAA Tournament. Kocevski made the All-ACC First Team and was Co-ACC Midfielder of the Year.

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“Some of the plays have just been good plays on our part,” Kocevski said of his assist total during an Oct. 24 media opportunity. “I’m putting the ball in the box but if it wasn’t for the other guys on the team, those assists wouldn’t count.”

SU’s midfield was deep. Alongside Kocevski, Josh Belluz, Leveque and, at times, Mikina gave the Orange a strong presence in the middle of the park. While Kocevski and Leveque were the main distributors in the attack, Belluz and Mikina stabilized Syracuse’s defense, helping SU keep seven clean sheets in 21 games.

The midfield group made its biggest impact versus BU in the NCAA Tournament. With Kocevski suspended due to receiving a red card in Syracuse’s previous game against UNC, others needed to step up. Leveque replicated Kocevski’s production, assisting on two set piece goals. Belluz and Mikina helped the Orange keep BU scoreless for the final 87 minutes.

With Kocevski, Belluz and Mikina all set to graduate, it will be tough for Syracuse to generate similar production from its midfield in 2024.

Published on November 27, 2023 at 11:26 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews