Miami women’s soccer won its ACC opener for the first time since 2011 with a 2-1 victory over Syracuse on Friday evening at Cobb Stadium.
And it was all thanks to freshman Gianna Angelillo, who scored her first career goal in the 54th minute and forced a Syracuse own goal right before halftime.
The Hurricanes (2-3-3, 1-0-0 ACC) opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when Angelillo’s cross bounced off an Orange defender and into the net.
In the second half, Angelillo doubled Miami’s lead. Defender Adrianna Serna found forward Tusca Mahmoudpour on a throw-in, and she drove a no-look pass right to Angelillo just outside the box.
From there, the 5-foot-7 midfielder drilled a left-footed shot past the arms of Syracuse goalkeeper Shea Vanderbosch.
After a lightning delay, the Orange (2-6-1, 0-1-0 ACC) narrowed the deficit off a penalty kick in the 89th minute by Erin Flurey, but the Hurricanes held on for the victory.
Syracuse outshot Miami 13-7 in the game, but only three of those shots were on goal. The Orange also held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The Hurricanes snapped a six-game winless streak against Syracuse and bounced back from a 1-0 loss to crosstown rival FIU last week.
Miami has looked impressive at times this season, with ties over Florida and No. 5 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. But the Hurricanes also lost to Georgia Southern and blew a late lead against Mississippi State.
Now, Miami looks to build on its momentum against No. 8 Clemson on Thursday at Cobb Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.