As the NCAA soccer season gets going, it’s time for a few questions about the upcoming season. Syracuse edged Indiana on penalties last season in a thrilling final, claiming its first men’s soccer title in program history in just its second time ever at the College Cup. With the preseason polls out and the Orange listed as nominal favorites to run it back, here are a few things to think about for the other kind of men’s football.
Can the ACC Keep Its Run Going?
ACC soccer is so loaded that Clemson finished eighth in the league last season and was seeded sixth overall when the national tournament began. The conference is home to the past two national champions and has accounted for half of the past two College Cup fields, with Pitt and Notre Dame each making an appearance.
Syracuse is just one of four ACC squads to start the year ranked in the top 10, with Duke, Pittsburgh and Clemson also considered among the elite. The rest of the league isn’t exactly a weak link, either, as Virginia and Wake Forest are also expected to have strong squads. Iron sharpens iron, and the league has every chance of walking away with a third straight national crown.
Can Indiana Finally Get Over the Last Hurdle?
The Hoosiers have come close for the past six years, making three national championship games and one College Cup semifinal but never coming away with the big prize. Whether they can win the title in 2023 will be decided by whether they can find someone to get the ball to forward Tommy Mihalic. Mihalic scored seven goals last season to finish second on the Indiana roster to Ryan Wittenbrink’s 10, but Wittenbrink is gone this season.
So are Herbert Endeley and Nyk Sessock, and that’s 22 of last season’s 44 assists gone. The Hoosiers have a proven scorer to build around, but they need someone to set him up.
Will Kentucky’s Schedule Backfire Again?
The Wildcats have to find a way to get a stronger schedule. The SEC doesn’t sponsor men’s soccer, so Kentucky and South Carolina are left to compete in the Sun Belt. The Wildcats overran the league last season, but they were ill-prepared for a battle-tested Pittsburgh squad and took their first and only loss of the year in the Round of 16.
Kentucky hasn’t really done anything different with its schedule, as it’s added nobody of significance compared to last season. Other than Marshall, nobody in the Sun Belt’s going to offer stiff competition. With only traditional rival Indiana on the slate as a tough task, Kentucky might again find itself unprepared when the NCAA tournament rolls around.
[…] They couldn’t, and they didn’t even make their first appearance in the College Cup. The Wildcats’ run ended in the Sweet 16, where a Pittsburgh team that had been hardened by ACC competition wasn’t intimidated by Kentucky’s record and handed the Wildcats a season-ending 2-1 loss. After the match, Pitt midfielder Jackson Walti threw a small amount of shade at the Wildcats’ lack… […]