Virginia falls at Syracuse, 3-1

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia fell, 3-1, to Syracuse in its ACC opener on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. Sophomore forward Leo Afonso scored the lone goal for the Cavaliers in the loss.

Syracuse (3-2-0, 1-0-0 ACC) struck first when Deandre Kerr stole the ball from the Virginia defense and scored.

The Orange added to its lead with a goal in the 19th minute off a corner kick.

Freshman defender Paul Wiese played a nice ball ahead to Afonso, who tipped it past the Syracuse goalkeeper to put Virginia on the board in the 23rd minute and cut Syracuse’s lead to 2-1 at the half.

UVA (2-2-0, 0-1-0 ACC) had several opportunities early in the second half, including back-to-back corner kicks in the 58th minute, but couldn’t convert.

Syracuse picked off a ball on UVA’s side of the field in the 75th minute and scored to make it a 3-1 final.