The crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome was just as silent, and the tension the Syracuse Orange had been building was quite obvious. At least until Stanford safety Mitch Leigber picked off a pass thrown by Syracuse football quarterback Kyle McCord and brought it into the end zone for a score, chances are that was the game-deciding play somewhere within the third quarter as Leigber capitalized on a lapse in focus between McCord and tight end Dan Villari.
Leigber sprinted down the field, doing a stutter step to avoid McCord’s clutch that completely closed around his ankle.
A score of 20-10 favored the other team, and McCord, being as conversant with lifting trophies during his days at Ohio State as well, pushed his team. In trying to win, he even passed the ball to Jackson Meeks and brought the score down to 24-23; he couldn’t win.
It was, however, Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels who took the show: taking them on their last offense before attempting a game-winning field goal from the boot of Emmet Kenney. Faced with fourth and 9 with 37 seconds remaining, Daniels responded to the challenge with a clutch 27-yard pass to star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, in place for the decisive kick attempt from Kenney.
It was a surprise win for a decision that McCord had only lost once, and that was to Michigan, whose win was to put them into the National Champions title during his Ohio State heydays. Predicted to be cellar dwellers in the ACC Preseason Poll, Stanford proved to be tough and spirited.
Leigber’s interception and Daniels’ inability to keep his cool in the heat of the game brought the Cardinal win to completion. Dazzling play shall live long in the history of the soccer club, though the Cardinals did win.
The conquered adversity Stanford by Stanford marked the beginning of their shocking skeptics. It was unmistakable that by the final whistle, the crowd in the JMA Wireless Dome was completely surprised; the joyful Stanford soccer team went around the arena as if they had played a lottery.
The ending was very dramatic with very much tension raised, yet both teams would have a fantastic match, revealing great talent and rigorous practice in great execution, thus promising another exciting season ahead.
Emmet Kenney thrillingly sealed the deal, as he flipped a 50-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights with 1 second left, sending the crowd into a frenzy and the team on the field amid bliss.
Kyle McCord says losing is pathetic, but he will fuel off this and undoubtedly come back as a conqueror by taking motivation from this.
The fantastic clash was a first-time encounter between Syracuse (2-1, 1-1 ACC) and Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC).
The offense of the Orange team was inconsistent. The team collected only 26 rushing yards and four sacks. The two interceptions of McCord cost big penalties to the Orange. It did not matter how good the final plays by McCord were despite early mistakes. Stanford football thwarted Syracuse in its ACC Stanford vs Syracuse opener.
