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CARY, N.C — In the 79th minute, Levonte Johnson subbed back into the game, just like Syracuse scheduled its subs all season. He was “well-rested.”

It was the 91st minute against Penn in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, the 85th minute against UNC in Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals, and on Friday against Creighton, it was the 86th minute, too.

Tapping the ball into the net off a Nathan Opoku pass across the goal, Johnson scored his — nation-best — eighth game-winning goal, the final goal in a back-and-forth 3-2 win for No. 3-seeded Syracuse (18-2-4, 5-1-2 ACC). SU advances to its first-ever national championship game in the College Cup, ending unseeded Creighton’s (13-5-6, 3-3-4 Big East) season. The Orange will face No. 13-seeded Indiana on Monday, Dec.12 for the title.

“I think with the subs we have, it’s very hard to defend us for 90 minutes with the quality we have off the bench,” Johnson said.

Opoku said the Bluejays were the best team SU has faced all season; Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said they were “scary.” McIntyre knew on Wednesday that his team couldn’t limit Creighton’s Duncan McGuire the entire full-time. It was going to be a high-scoring, offensive game against the nation’s best offense and the nation’s leading goal-scorer.

“It was a heavyweight battle today,” McIntyre said.

McGuire wasn’t really limited at all, notching seven of CU’s 15 shots. He tied the game up at one just minutes into the second half when Callum Watson played a ball over the top ball in the midfield in the path of McGuire. McGuire shielded Abdi Salim and slipped a shot into the left corner. In the second half, he injured his shoulder, temporarily removing him from the game, and didn’t quite look the same once he returned. To address Creighton’s offensive presence, McIntyre brought in Jackson Glenn as a wing-back, subbing out Lorenzo Boselli.

In the seventh minute, McGuire had his first opportunity, going one-on-one in the box, before slightly shanking the ball left of the goal. On another one-on-one opportunity, he moved to the right, avoiding Christian Curti, before firing a shot on goal. But Russell Shealy tipped the effort off the crossbar and out for a corner. McGuire also had a shot inside the penalty box that was cleared off the line by Amferny Sinclair.

“We were worried about the pockets of space in midfield with their two attacking midfielders,” McIntyre said.

Syracuse entered halftime with a 1-0 lead, which McIntyre said was a little bit “fortunate” as the opener came from a Creighton mistake. Curt Calov sent in a corner and goalkeeper Paul Kruse got his gloves on the attempt but slightly bobbled it, dropping the ball right in front of Curti, who tapped it in from a couple of yards out.

Shealy, who finished with six saves, prevented a game-tying goal late in the first half. After McGuire received the ball on the right, Salim slipped, creating an opportunity for McGuire unmarked from the penalty spot, but his shot was saved by Shealy, who McIntyre described as the “difference” on Friday. Shealy also saved a low, well-driven cross a minute later. To open the second half, Ben Foulks shot the ball to the lower-left corner, but Shealy pushed the ball out for a Creighton corner.

“I maybe could’ve had a few more, but I can’t hang my head about not missing opportunities,” McGuire said. “Maybe I could’ve had one or two more.”

Jeorgio Kocevski helped create a few opportunities for Syracuse, including its second goal which came just 91 seconds after Creighton tied the game. Kocevski countered in the midfield, slipping in a through ball for Opoku. Opoku placed it perfectly into the left corner, giving SU a 2-1 advantage in the 51st minute.

Kocevski had another great shot opportunity midway through the first half. He received the ball from the left side, and sent a rocket from the top of the box to the upper left corner, but Kruse dove and got his hand on it.

Creighton also used McGuire for deep throw-ins, which happened a few times throughout the game. In the 34th minute, McGuire threw it in from deep and the ball deflected right to Charles Auguste at the penalty spot, but his first-time shot went left. The deep throw-in was what leveled the game at two in the 64th minute as Alfie Pope tapped it in, with a double-assist credited to Luke Mitchell and Watson.

“(Creighton) started to rotate some players (in the) second half, and I think just a little bit of our depth helped towards the end of the game,” McIntyre said.

In the 86th minute, Johnson scored the game-winning goal as Opoku worked along the right side of the box. Johnson cut up to the penalty spot, then back to the goalline without a Bluejay defender on him.

McIntyre said he wished Johnson scored a few minutes later because Creighton, expectedly, pressured high up the field, but in the end, Shealy collected the final save, draining the clock as Syracuse advanced to its first-ever national championship game.

“We’re going to go now all the way up to the last day of the college soccer season, so that’s a real privilege,” McIntyre said.

Published on December 9, 2022 at 8:35 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini